Hydroelectric Power Generation - Renewable Energy: Technology, Economics and Environment - page 375

In comparison with the additional construction of new plants, the costs of re-
conditioning old plants or for their modernisation are significantly lower. For the
reconditioning of plants between 1 and 10 MW, costs of approximately
1,500 €/kW and for the modernisation of approximately 1,000 €/kW are quoted.
Reconditioning costs are largely dependent on the availability of plant compo-
nents that can still be used.

12,000 12,000

10,000 10,000

8,000 8,000

New construction New construction

6,000 6,000

4,000 4,000

Rehabilitation Rehabilitation

2,000 2,000

Modernisation Modernisation

0 0

0 0 100 100 200 200 300 300 400 400 500 500 600 600 700 700 800 800 900 900 1,000 1,000

Fig. 8.19 Specific investments of hydroelectric power stations relative to plant capacity
(see /8-12/)

Power in kW Power in kW

Apart from the rated capacity, the costs of run-of-river power stations are also
dependent on the head at the potential location. Therefore in most cases, plants
with the same rated capacity are characterised by lower specific investments with
increasing head between headwater and tailwater level.

Operation costs. In optimally designed and low-maintenance hydroelectric power
stations the operation costs are very low. Variable costs occur i.e. for staff, main-
tenance, administration, provisions for plant renewals, disposal of screenings, and
insurance. The individual cost allocations can vary a lot from plant to plant, de-
pending on the local conditions. The annual operation costs are approximately
around 1 to 4 % of the overall investment. For small and very small hydroelectric
power stations, they are generally higher than for large plants.

Electricity generation costs. The annual average real production costs that re-
main constant over the amortisation period of a hydroelectric power plant are de-
rived from the overall investments. For smaller plants with an output below
1 MW, and larger plants with an output above 1 MW (Table 8.2) the technical
lifetime of the structural components is assumed to be 60 and 80 years. By the
same classification, the technical lifetime for the machines and the electrical parts