EXPRESS ASSESSMENT OF HYDROPOWER POTENTIAL OF THE SMALL RIVERS IN UKRAINE WITH ACCOUNT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESTRICTIONS

The article is devoted to the development of an express method for assessing the potential of hydropower resources of the small rivers in Ukraine, taking into account the requirements of the current regulatory framework in the environmental and energy sectors, which provides objective information for the development of small hydropower stations at the current stage of alternative energy development. The article determines the environmental restrictions of small hydropower based on the provisions of the current regulatory and legal framework of Ukraine, the criteria for the ecological value of the territory and the principles of preserving the diversity of wild fauna of rivers. Restrictions on the use of water for the production of small hydropower plants take into account the sanitary discharge, the continuous operation of fishers, low water, floods, operational measures to regulate the water flow through hydroconstructions, the regulation of hydroelectric power through the watercourse which allows practically no distortion of the natural hydrological regime and biological state of river below the station. Restrictions on the use of the territory for the construction of small hydropower stations take into account the presence of national natural parks, reserves, and natural monuments, places of deposits of minerals and mineral waters, historical and cultural heritage, special purpose land. Restrictions on the permissible bias of river sections have been introduced with regard to environmental restrictions. The article substantiates the significance of the technical potential of the hydropower resources of small rivers in Ukraine, taking into account environmental restrictions, at the level of 1270 million kWh/year (about 375 MW of installed capacity of small HPPs), and its distribution over the hydrological zones of the country. It is established that the volume of technically achievable potential of hydropower resources, even for the main deep-water small rivers of Ukraine, is within 3–15% of their natural potential. The results obtained are essential for the development of a modern concept of regional programs for the development of small hydropower and the Energy Strategy, implementation of the activities of the National Action Plan for Renewable Energy in Ukraine.