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. Exact definitions vary, but a "small hydro" project is less than 50 megawatts (MW), and can be further subdivide by scale into "mini" (<1MW), "micro" (<100 kW), "pico" (<10 kW). 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.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential energy of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost surplus off-peak electric power is typically used to run the pumps. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released through turbines to produce electric power. Although the losses of the pumping process make the plant a net consumer of energy overall, the system increases revenue by selling more electricity during periods of peak demand, when electricity prices are highest. If the upper lake collects significant rainfall or is fed by a river then the plant may be a net energy producer in the manner of a traditional hydroelectric plant.
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2020 hydropower generated one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh, which was more than all other renewables combined and also more than nuclear power.
The Bakun Dam is an embankment dam located in Sarawak, Malaysia, on the Balui River, a tributary or source of the Rajang River and some sixty kilometres east of Belaga. As part of the project, the second tallest concrete-faced rockfill dam in the world would be built. It is planned to generate 2,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity once completed.
National Grid, Malaysia is the high-voltage electric power transmission network in Peninsular Malaysia. It is operated and owned by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) by its Transmission Division. There are two other electrical grids in Sabah and Sarawak operated by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) respectively.
The Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station in Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls. Owned and operated by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the plant diverts water from the Niagara River above Niagara Falls and returns the water into the lower portion of the river near Lake Ontario. It uses 13 generators at an installed capacity of 2,525 MW (3,386,000 hp).
Sultan Mahmud Power Station or Kenyir Dam is the hydroelectric dam which forms Kenyir Lake, Terengganu, Malaysia. It is located 50 km southwest of Kuala Terengganu on the Kenyir River. The project is a multipurpose hydroelectric power and flood mitigation scheme.
The Batang Ai Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam in Batang Ai National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. The power station comprises four 25 MW turbines, totalling the installed capacity to 100 MW. The station is operated by Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation. Preparations for the dam began as early as 1975, before the design was published in 1977. Construction started in 1982 with the river diversion work and the last turbine completed in 1985. The Batang Ai project, a relatively modest dam financed by the Asian Development Bank, caused the displacement of approximately 3,000 people from 26 longhouses. These people have since been accommodated in the Batang Ai Resettlement Scheme to cultivate cocoa and rubber but the programme has not been successful.
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amount of storage, in which case the storage reservoir is referred to as pondage. A plant without pondage is subject to seasonal river flows, thus the plant will operate as an intermittent energy source. Conventional hydro uses reservoirs, which regulate water for flood control, dispatchable electrical power, and the provision of fresh water for agriculture.
According to the International Hydropower Association, Canada is the fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world in 2021 after the United States, Brazil, and China. In 2014, Canada consumed the equivalent of 85.7 megatonnes worth of oil of hydroelectricity, 9.8% of worldwide hydroelectric consumption. Furthermore, hydroelectricity accounted for 25.7% of Canada's total energy consumption. It is the third-most consumed energy in Canada behind oil and natural gas.
The Murum Dam is a gravity dam on the Murum River in Sarawak, Malaysia. Construction began in 2008. The dam's reservoir began to fill in July 2013 and the first generator was commissioned in December 2014. The fourth and final turbine began operations on 8 June 2015. Concerns have been raised about the displacement of the Dayak people and the removal of rainforest due to the construction of the dam.
The Gilgel Gibe III Dam is a 250 m high roller-compacted concrete dam with an associated hydroelectric power plant on the Omo River in Ethiopia. It is located about 62 km (39 mi) west of Sodo in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. Once fully commissioned, it will be the third largest hydroelectric plant in Africa with a power output of about 1870 Megawatt (MW), thus more than doubling total installed capacity in Ethiopia from its 2007 level of 814 MW. The Gibe III dam is part of the Gibe cascade, a series of dams including the existing Gibe I dam and Gibe II power station as well as the planned Gibe IV and Gibe V dams. The existing dams are owned and operated by the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power, which is also the client for the Gibe III Dam.
The Zimapán Dam, also known as Fernando Hiriart Balderrama Dam, is an arch dam on the Moctezuma River about 15 km (9 mi) southwest of Zimapán in Hidalgo state, Mexico. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and it services a 292 MW power station with water.
The Minghu Dam (Chinese: 明湖水壩; pinyin: Mínghú Shuǐbà, renamed the Takuan Dam, is a concrete gravity dam on the Shuili River located 7 km north of Shuili Township in Nantou County, Taiwan. The reservoir formed by the dam serves as the lower reservoir for the Minhu Pumped Storage Hydro Power Station. Sun Moon Lake serves as the upper reservoir.
Garzan Dam is an embankment dam on the Garzan River 9 km (5.6 mi) northeast of Kozluk in Batman Province, Turkey. It is part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project and has a primary purpose of hydroelectric power generation and irrigation. Surveys for the dam were completed in 2008, construction began in 2009 and the dam began to impound its reservoir in October 2012. The power plant has an installed capacity of 49 MW. The irrigation works remain under construction and are expected to irrigate an area of 40,000 ha when complete. The dam was awarded to FERNAS Energy Electricity Generation Co. Inc. in 2011 under a build–operate–transfer basis.
The Bowatenna Dam is a 100 ft (30 m) high gravity dam at Bowatenna, in the Naula, Central Province of Sri Lanka. The dam was built in June 1981, and is used primarily for irrigation. A 40 MW power station is also constructed 5,800 ft (1,800 m) downstream, for hydroelectric power generation.
The Gal Oya Dam is an embankment dam in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka. The dam creates one of the largest reservoirs in the country, the Gal Oya Reservoir. Water from the reservoir is used primarily for irrigation in the Uva and Eastern provinces, in addition to powering a small hydroelectric power station. Construction of the dam and reservoir began in August 24, 1949, completing four years later in 1953.
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 Ulu Jelai Power Station is a hydroelectric power station located in the district of Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. It is one of the entry point projects under the Economic Transformation Programme.
