Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale suitable for local community and industry, or to contribute to distributed generation in a regional electricity grid. The definition of a "small hydro" project varies based on different consideration of what should constitute bottom and top limits from country to country, but most common range, although not binding, in capacity of "small hydro" extend between 1 to 15 megawatts (MW), and can be further subdivide by scale into "mini" (<1MW), "micro" (<100kW), "pico" (<10kW). In contrast many hydroelectric projects are of enormous size, such as the generating plant at the Three Gorges Dam at 22,500 megawatts or the vast multiple projects of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In India, hydro projects up to 25 MW station capacities have been categorized as Small Hydro Power (SHP) projects.
The Dez Dam, formerly known as Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Dam before 1979 Revolution, is an arch dam on the Dez River in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, Iran. It is about 22 km (14 mi) north east of Andimeshk. It was built between 1959 and 1963 under the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, with contacting an Italian consortium and is owned by the Khuzestan Water & Power Authority. The dam is 203 metres (666 ft) high, making it one of the highest in the country, and has a reservoir capacity of 3,340,000,000 m3 (2,710,000 acre⋅ft). At the time of construction the Dez Dam was Iran's biggest development project. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and irrigation. It has an associated 520 MW power station and its reservoir helps irrigate up to 80,500 ha of farmland. US$42 million of the cost to construct the dam came from the World Bank.
Rogun Dam is an embankment dam under construction on the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan. The dam is situated 110 km from Dushanbe. It is one of the planned hydroelectric power plants of Vakhsh Cascade.
The Nurek Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Vakhsh River in Tajikistan. Its primary purpose is hydroelectric power generation and its power station has an installed capacity of 3,015 MW. Construction of the dam began in 1961 and the power station's first generator was commissioned in 1972. The last generator was commissioned in 1979 and the entire project was completed in 1980 when Tajikistan was still a republic within the Soviet Union, becoming the tallest dam in the world at the time. At 300 m (984 ft), it is currently the second tallest man-made dam in the world, after being surpassed by Jinping-I Dam in 2013. The Rogun Dam, also along the Vakhsh in Tajikistan, may exceed it in size when completed.
The Gandhi Sagar Dam is one of the four major dams built on India's Chambal River. The dam is located in the Mandsaur, Neemuch districts of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is a masonry gravity dam, standing 62.17 metres (204.0 ft) high, with a gross storage capacity of 7.322 billion cubic metres from a catchment area of 22,584 km2 (8,720 sq mi). The dam's foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 7 March 1954, and construction of the main dam was done by leading contractor Dwarka Das Agrawal & Associates and was completed in 1960. Additional dam structures were completed downstream in the 1970s.
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a masonry dam across the Krishna river at Nagarjuna Sagar which straddles the border between Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh and Nalgonda district, Telangana. Constructed between 1955 and 1967, the dam created a water reservoir with gross storage capacity of 11.472 billion cubic metres. The dam is 590 feet (180 m) tall from its deepest foundation and 0.99 miles (1.6 km) long with 26 flood gates which are 42 feet (13 m) wide and 45 feet (14 m) tall.
Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Sambalpur in the state of Odisha in India. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km (34 mi) long. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after India's independence. It is India’s largest dam. It is also on fourth largest dam in the world.
The Kajaki Dam is one of the two major hydroelectric power dams of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The dam is located on the Helmand River 100 miles (161 km) north-west of Kandahar and is operated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority. It has a dual function, to provide electricity and to irrigate some 650,000 acres (1800 km²) of an otherwise arid land. Water discharging from the dam traverses some 300 miles (500 km) of downstream irrigation canals feeding farmland. As of October 2016 it produces 52.5 megawatts of electricity.
The Srisailam Dam is constructed across the Krishna River in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh near Srisailam temple town and is the 2nd largest capacity working hydroelectric station in the country.
The harsh project is one of the largest irrigation projects in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a multipurpose project. The water is mainly used to irrigate agricultural land in the drought-prone Marathwada Region region of the state. It also provides water for drinking and industrial usage to nearby towns and villages and to the municipalities and industrial areas of Aurangabad and Jalna district. The surrounding area of the dam has a garden and a bird sanctuary.
The Mingachevir Dam is the largest hydroelectric power station in the South Caucasus, is located over Kur river and not far from Mingachevir city.
The Daguangba Dam is a multi-purpose dam on the Changhua River in Hainan Province, China. It is located 35 km (22 mi) east of Dongfang. As the primary component of the Daguangba Multipurpose Project, the dam was constructed between 1990 and 1995. It serves to provide water for both hydroelectric power generation and agriculture. It supports a 240 MW power station and supplies water for the irrigation of 12,700 ha. It is also the largest dam and hydroelectric power station in Hainan.
The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station is a run-of-river power plant on the Dnieper River in Kakhovka, Ukraine. Kakhovka is a port city located on the reservoir's southern bank. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation, irrigation and navigation. It is the 6th and the last dam in the Dnieper cascade.
Ghatghar Dam refers to two associated gravity dams built using roller-compacted concrete, the first use in India. They are situated in Ghatghar village in Ahmednagar district Maharashtra, India. Both dams create a lower and upper reservoir for the 250 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power station. The upper Ghatghar dam is 15 m (49 ft) tall and on the Pravara River, a tributary of Godavari river. The lower Ghatghar dam is 86 m (282 ft) tall and located on the Shahi Nalla which is a tributary of Ulhas River to the south west of the upper reservoir in a steep valley. The hydro power project diverts Godavari river basin water outside the basin area to a west flowing river of Western ghats.
The Bao-Tavera Dam Complex refers to two earth-filled embankment dams located about 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Santiago in Santiago Province of the Dominican Republic. The Bao Dam on the Bao River is 113 m (371 ft) and withholds a reservoir with a maximum storage capacity of 280,000,000 m3 (230,000 acre⋅ft). It is the second tallest dam in the country behind the Monción Dam. The Tavera Dam, about 8 km (5.0 mi) east of Bao Dam, on the river Yaque del Norte is 82 m (269 ft) high and has a reservoir with a capacity of 170,000,000 m3 (140,000 acre⋅ft). A 1.5 km (0.93 mi) canal connects each reservoir, making them a complex. The purpose of the complex is to provide municipal water, water for irrigation and to generate hydroelectric power. Water from the Tavera Reservoir is piped downstream to the Tavera Hydroelectric Plant which is situated on the right bank of the Bao River before it meets the Yaque del Norte River. The power station contains two 48 MW Francis turbine-generators for an installed capacity of 96 MW. Construction on the Tavera Dam began in September 1969 and it was completed on 27 September 1973. The Bao Dam was completed in 1981. The power station was upgraded from 80 MW to 96 MW in 1992.
The Tuyamuyun Hydro Complex (THC) is a system of four interconnected reservoirs and a series of canals on the lower Amu Darya River, bordering Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Its primary purpose is to provide water for irrigation in Xorazm, Karakalpakstan and Daşoguz regions of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and as far north as Kazakhstan. The complex is located about 74 km (46 mi) southeast of Urgench in Xorazm Region, Uzbekistan and about 2 km (1.2 mi) north of Gazojak in Lebap Region, Turkmenistan. It was constructed between 1969 and 1983. Aside from irrigation, the complex also provides water for industrial and municipal uses. A 150 MW power station on the main dam contains six 25 MW hydroelectric turbine-generators.
The Kayrakkum Dam, also spelt variously as Kayrakum, Kairakum, Qayraqqum or Qayroqqum, is an embankment dam on the Syr Darya River near the town of Kayrakkum in Sughd Province, Tajikistan. It is situated on the western edge of the Fergana Valley and creates Kayrakkum Reservoir. The reservoir supplies water for irrigation, primarily in Uzbekistan downstream, and hydroelectric power production. The reservoir is also a Ramsar site. The dam's power station has an installed capacity of 126 MW and is operated by Barki Tojik. Construction on the dam began in 1952. It began to impound its reservoir in 1956 and the first two generators were commissioned that year. The other four were operational in 1957 and the project was complete in 1959. The power station is currently undergoing a rehabilitation which should be completed in 2020. Two new and larger turbines will increase the installed capacity to 142 MW.
The Baipaza Dam is a concrete face rock-fill dam on the Vakhsh River about 9 km (5.6 mi) southeast of Yovon in Khatlon Province, Tajikistan. A purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports a 600 MW power station. The first three 150 MW Francis turbine-generators were commissioned in 1985, the fourth in 1986. Its reservoir also holds water for the irrigation of some 40,000 ha in the Yovon and Obikiik Valleys to the west. This is accomplished by a 7.3 km (4.5 mi) long tunnel which runs from the right back of the reservoir and through a mountain to the valley.
Sevan–Hrazdan Cascade is a complex of hydroelectric power plants on the Hrazdan River and its tributaries between the Lake Sevan and Yerevan in Armenia. They use irrigation water flow from the Lake Sevan and streams waters of Hrazdan River that gives an opportunity to irrigate 70% of Armenian agricultural lands. The cascade is owned by the International Energy Corporation (IEC), a subsidiary of RusHydro.
