Integrated Evaluation of Increasing Irrigation Efficiency and Reducing Discharge Impacts on Hydropower Generation of Basin Water Resources System(Case Study: Dez Irrigation Network – Dez Dam)

Abstract

World electricity production today is heavily dependent on water resources. Studies have shown that global warming and climate changes will have significant impacts on available water resources to produce hydroelectric power. Considering that the reservoir dam in the catchment area of Dez is simultaneously a producer of hydropower and supplier of water needed for agricultural land, the aim of this study is to estimate the quantitative effect of improving the efficiency of irrigation networks and reduce inputs to the dam on the amount of annual hydropower generation by the Dez dam power plant. For this purpose, with the integrated simulation of the Dez basin to Bandeghir, the effects of improving the efficiency of 5, 10, 15 and 20 percent, as well as decreasing the river inputs at 5 and 10 percent in two short- and long horizons, were studied. The results of this study showed that in the long run, as a result of the increased demand and the increase of hydraulic structures that are now at the justification stage, the amount of hydropower generation is reduced by about 115 GWh. The results showed that improving the efficiency can increase the amount of hydropower generation between 2 and 6 GWh per year. The production of hydroelectricity was highly dependent on the Dez River inputs, so that in the scenarios, a sudden drop in hydro-energy production occurred and the amount of it decreased by 5 and 10 percent, by 140 and 296 GWh, respectively.