A study on solutions and problems of hydroelectric power plants in the operation

Hydroelectricity, which is defined as green energy, is a type of renewable energy. Despite the advantages of hydroelectric power plants, there are also negative effects caused by them. While power plants do provide advantages such as flood reduction, disaster management, mitigation of the effects of global warming and climate change; they can also lead to some unwanted environmental effects at the local and regional levels. In this study, the generation capacities of hydroelectric power plants that were built and commissioned by a Public Institution or by the Private Sector in the Büyük Menderes and Western Mediterranean basins were evaluated, for the years of 2010–2019. In the years examined, the project energy production value was compared with the maximum and minimum energy production levels of the power plants. The average maximum and average minimum production rates, which were calculated by proportioning the maximum and minimum energy production values to the project production value, was 93.33% and 56.04% for the West Mediterranean basin, respectively; and it was 92.97% and 43.09% for the Büyük Menderes basin. The average production rate for the Western Mediterranean basin was 69.8%, and for the Büyük Menderes basin it was 68%. It has been shown that there were significant differences between the annual energy production of the power plants and the amount of production realized due to the changes in the water resources of the studied basins, as well as due to insufficient data and careless planning. In addition, the production and environmental problems encountered during the operation phase have been revealed and suggestions have been recommended for the resolution of these problems in this study.