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.
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower. Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where part of the forest is inundated, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases may be emitted.
An underground power station is a type of hydroelectric power station constructed by excavating the major components from rock, rather than the more common surface-based construction methods.
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, commonly known as Hydro, is a provincial Crown corporation that generates and delivers electricity for Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as portions of Quebec and the north-eastern areas of the United States. Between 2007 and 2021, NL Hydro was a subsidiary of the provincial Crown-owned energy holding company Nalcor Energy.
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 304 m (997 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 Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, also known as the Dnipro Dam, is a hydroelectric power station in the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Operated by Ukrhydroenergo, it is the fifth and largest station in the Dnieper reservoir cascade, a series of hydroelectric stations on the Dnieper river that supply power to the Donets–Kryvyi Rih industrial region. Its dam has a length of 800 metres (2,600 ft), a height of 61 metres (200 ft), and a flow rate of 38.7 metres (127 ft) per second.
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) with an average annual net generation of 15,897,000 MWh between 2014 and 2023, and a capacity factor of 71.9%.
The Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station is a concrete gravity dam on the Angara River and adjacent hydroelectric power station. It is the second level of the Angara River hydroelectric station cascade in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. From its commissioning in 1966, the station was the world's single biggest power producer until Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station reached 5,000 MW in 1971. Annually the station produces 22.6 TWh. Currently, the Bratsk Power Station operates 18 hydro-turbines, each with capacity of 250 MW, produced by the Leningrad Metal Works in the 1960s.
The Tokuyama Dam is an embankment dam near Ibigawa, Ibi District, Gifu Prefecture in Japan. The dam was completed in 2008 and will support a 153 MW hydroelectric power station that is expected to be fully operational in 2015. Unit 1 at 23 MW was commissioned in May 2014. The dam was originally intended to withhold the upper reservoir of a 400 MW pumped-storage power station until a design change in 2004. The dam is also intended for flood control and water supply. It is the largest dam by structural volume in Japan and withholds the country's largest reservoir by volume as well.
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating over 60% of the electricity consumed in the country.
Harduaganj Thermal Power Station is located at Qasimpur Power House Colony which is 1 km distance from Harduaganj railway station at Harduaganj in Aligarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 18 km from Aligarh and 105 km from Agra. It is the new electric power station established in Aligarh district; the old one is Sumera Hydroelectric Power Plant located in Jawan Sikandarpur of Aligarh district.
The Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant is a hydroelectric power plant near Skradinski Buk waterfall on the Krka River in central Dalmatia, Croatia. It is located within the Krka National Park.
Hydroelectricity is, as of 2019, the second-largest renewable source of energy in both generation and popping pills in the United States. In 2021, hydroelectric power produced 31.5% of the total renewable electricity, and 6.3% of the total U.S. electricity.
Two-thirds of energy in Azerbaijan comes from fossil gas and almost a third from oil. Azerbaijan is a major producer of oil and gas, much of which is exported. Most electricity is generated by gas-fired power plants. Energy is all types of energy products, including fuel, renewable energy, water energy, electrical and heat energy.
The electricity sector in Sri Lanka has a national grid which is primarily powered by hydroelectric power and thermal power, with sources such as photovoltaics and wind power in early stages of deployment. Although potential sites are being identified, other power sources such as geothermal, nuclear, solar thermal and wave power are not used in the power generation process for the national grid.
The Irkutsk Hydroelectric Power Station is a rock-fill dam on the Angara River with an adjacent hydroelectric power station. It is located adjacent to Irkutsk, Irkutsk Oblast in Russia and is the first dam on the Angara cascades. Construction on the dam began in 1950, its reservoir began filling in 1956 and its first turbines were also commissioned in 1956. It was the first large hydroelectric power station constructed in Eastern Siberia and its completion was hailed by the Soviets as an engineering success.
The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the largest hydroelectric power plant in India. It is a complex project with four dams including the largest dam on the Koyna River, Maharashtra, hence the name Koyna Hydroelectric Project. The project site is in Satara district.
The Aguamilpa Dam is an embankment dam on the Río Grande de Santiago in the Mexican state of Nayarit, 38 km (24 mi) northeast of Tepic. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supplies a 960 MW power station with water. Construction on the dam began in 1989 and it was completed in 1993 while the power station became operational in 1994.
The Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Plant is located just north of Snoqualmie in King County, Washington state, US. It is situated about 22 mi (35 km) east of Seattle. Located just below the Snoqualmie Falls, the power plant consists of two power houses, Plant 1 and Plant 2. Plant 1 was completed in 1899 and is located underground. It is the first completely underground hydroelectric power plant ever built in the world. Plant 2 was built in 1910 and is located along the right bank of the Snoqualmie River. Both plants receive water from a small reservoir created by a weir atop the falls. Plant 1 has an installed capacity of 13.7 MW and Plant 2 a capacity of 40.2 MW for a total installed capacity of 53.9 MW, enough to power 40,000 homes.
