The blue water footprint of electricity production from hydropower plants in Iran

Reservoirs of hydropower plants have a significant impact on water shortages as large amounts of water evaporate from the surface of the reservoirs and become out of reach. This is a major issue in hydrology and water resources, which results in the availability of water resources. In this regard, the concept of water footprint was used to calculate the water consumed in the process of generating electricity from these plants. In this study, to calculate the water footprint in electricity produced in hydropower plants of the country, data on the annual evaporation volume (m3) and annual electricity generation (m3/TJe) from 17 hydropower plants in Iran for the period of 2010 to 2017. The results showed that on average, the largest water footprint in electricity produced by Droudzan power plant was 287649 (m3 / TJe) and the lowest was related to Masjed Soleyman power plant and equal to 405 m3 / TJe. The average water footprint in electricity production from Iranian hydropower plants was estimated at 6132 (m3 / TJe).