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<br />CHAPTER H: WHO SHOULD DEVELOP THE SITE <br /> <br /> <br />Do-It-Yourself or Professional Developer? <br /> <br />The owners of potential hydroelectric sites are con- <br />fronted with a basic decision: whether to develop the <br />site themselves, or to arrange for the site to be <br />developed by a private developer. The advantage to <br />developing the site yourself, of course, is that all of <br />the rewards from development flow directly to the <br />site owner. Prior to making such a decision site <br />owners should carefully assess a variety of factors <br />which will have impact on the extent to which they <br />can be successful with their own development plans. <br /> <br />A key task is gathering the information necessary for <br />development. There is some cost involved in learning <br />about hydroelectric technology, utility rates, govern- <br />ment licensing procedures, dam repair and related <br />financial aspects. Part of this learning process will <br />involve direct expenditure of both time and money on <br />the part of the owner, which may never be recovered <br />if at any point the decision to develop the site is <br />terminated. From the start, the process of developing <br />a site is both a management problem and a financial <br />risk. <br /> <br />Another factor to be considered is the availability of <br />capital. Site owners must determine whether the <br />amount of capital necessary to develop the site when <br />compared to the return on investment mayor may not <br />be sufficient to warrant development. Industrial firms <br />may have competing uses for their capital. Munici- <br />palities must examine if there are more critical <br />competing uses for their limited borrowing capacity <br />for long term capital projects. <br /> <br />8 <br />