Sustaining power production in hydropower stations of developing countries

Abstract While the International Regulatory Bodies for Sustainability are striving in exploring innovative renewable energy resources, it is inevitable to make the existing clean resources more efficient, especially if they are investment-intensive, green, and situated in developing countries. The sustainability deviation in these renewable resources can be alarming not only for these financially weaker nations but also for the whole planet. In this study, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach is presented for the sustainable performance improvement of the existing major hydropower station, generating forty eight percent of the hydroelectric power in a developing country. The problem is modeled using two different decision making tools to ensure the consistency and reliability of the results. ‘Predictive Maintenance’ has been identified as the most optimal alternative while ‘Training and Development’ has emerged as the second option. This clearly generates the need for adopting intelligent technologies coupled with the ‘State of the Art’ Trainings. Operational Agility and System Upgradation seem the least important options, mainly due to financial challenges faced by developing countries. The results, in terms of policy making, sustainability and future investments, are highly attractive for all the stakeholders including the plant crews, international investors, local government and international regulatory bodies.