Skip to main content

Annual surface area of hydropower reservoirs

Roman Seliger

Sanchez, R. G., Seliger, R., Fahl, F., Felice, L. De, Ouarda, T. B. M. J., & Farinosi, F. (2020). Freshwater use of the energy sector in Africa. Applied Energy, 270(May), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115171

2016

Hydropower plants with the following characteristics are considered: i) installed capacity above 5MW, ii) unambiguous identification of power plant location and iii) artificial water accumulation in reservoir associated with hydropower plant operation. Since water surfaces are derived from optical satellite imagery (Landsat), reservoir areas may be slightly underestimated when partially covered by clouds, vegetation or satellite image artefacts.