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Financial Appraisal of Small Hydro-Power Considering the Cradle-to-Grave Environmental Cost: A Case from Greece

Author

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  • Adamantia Zoi Vougioukli

    (Department of Business Administration, University of Piraeus, M. Karaoli & A. Dimitriou St. 80, 18534 Piraeus, Greece)

  • Eleni Didaskalou

    (Department of Business Administration, University of Piraeus, M. Karaoli & A. Dimitriou St. 80, 18534 Piraeus, Greece)

  • Dimitrios Georgakellos

    (Department of Business Administration, University of Piraeus, M. Karaoli & A. Dimitriou St. 80, 18534 Piraeus, Greece)

Abstract

In the last decades increasing attention to environmental issues has come to the fore due to the looming issue of climate change. The growing demand for energy, coupled with the increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have forced the study and development of energy plants that use renewable energy sources (RES), as electricity generation is one of the major contributors to anthropogenic emissions. Small hydropower plants are of particular interest as their potential is assumed to be high. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts of small hydropower plants (SHPs) using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The main parameter set for our simplified LCA model was the weight of the components used to construct and operate the plant: concrete, aggregates and steel. Through LCA, air pollutant externalities were associated with the life cycle of SHPs. This was accomplished by applying the NEEDS framework. The results are given per impact type (human health, loss of biodiversity, crop yield, material damage and climate change). The spearhead of the study is that the environmental cost must be a parameter of the total investment cost, which may affect the indexes of the financial evaluation of the project.

Suggested Citation

  • Adamantia Zoi Vougioukli & Eleni Didaskalou & Dimitrios Georgakellos, 2017. "Financial Appraisal of Small Hydro-Power Considering the Cradle-to-Grave Environmental Cost: A Case from Greece," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:10:y:2017:i:4:p:430-:d:94230
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    2. Kałuża, Tomasz & Hämmerling, Mateusz & Zawadzki, Paweł & Czekała, Wojciech & Kasperek, Robert & Sojka, Mariusz & Mokwa, Marian & Ptak, Mariusz & Szkudlarek, Arkadiusz & Czechlowski, Mirosław & Dach, J, 2022. "The hydropower sector in Poland: Barriers and the outlook for the future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    3. Azimov, Ulugbek & Avezova, Nilufar, 2022. "Sustainable small-scale hydropower solutions in Central Asian countries for local and cross-border energy/water supply," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    4. Claude Boris Amougou & David Tsuanyo & Davide Fioriti & Joseph Kenfack & Abdoul Aziz & Patrice Elé Abiama, 2022. "LCOE-Based Optimization for the Design of Small Run-of-River Hydropower Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-35, October.
    5. Maxim Zhelonkin & Andrey Kurkin & Alexey Loskutov & Alexander Plekhov & Dmitry Malyarov & Evgeny Kryukov, 2023. "Developing a Simulation Model to Numerically Estimate Energy Parameters and Wave Energy Converter Efficiency of a Floating Wave Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Murillo Vetroni Barros & Cassiano Moro Piekarski & Antonio Carlos De Francisco, 2018. "Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2016–2026 Period," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, June.

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