Evaluation of hydrokinetic energy potentials of selected rivers in Kwara State, Nigeria
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Date
2020-01-22
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
This Hydrokinetic energy system is the process of extracting energy from rivers, canals and other sources to generate small-scale electrical
energy for decentralized usage. This study investigates the application of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in Geographical Information
System (GIS) environment to evaluate the theoretical hydrokinetic energy potentials of selected Rivers (Asa, Awun and Oyun) all in Asa watershed,
Kwara state, Nigeria. SWAT was interfaced with an open-source GIS system to predict the flow and other hydrological parameters of the sub-basins.
The model was calibrated and validated using observed streamflow data. Calibrated flow results were used in conjunction with other parameters
to compute the theoretical hydrokinetic energy potentials of the Rivers. Results showed a good correlation between the observed flow and
the simulated flow, indicated by ash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and R2 of 0.76 and 0.85, respectively for the calibration period, and NSE and R
of 0.70 and 0.74, respectively for the validation period. Also, it was observed that the highest potential of 154.82 MW was obtained along River
Awun while the lowest potential of 41.63 MW was obtained along River Asa. The energy potentials obtained could be harnessed and deployed
to the communities around the watershed for their energy needs.