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 one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, 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.
The Nashua River, 37.5 miles (60.4 km) long, is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It is formed in eastern Worcester County, Massachusetts, at the confluence of the North Nashua River and South Nashua River, and flows generally north-northeast past Groton to join the Merrimack at Nashua, New Hampshire. The Nashua River watershed occupies a major portion of north-central Massachusetts and a much smaller portion of southern New Hampshire.
The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board and the Manitoba Hydro Act. Today the company operates 16 interconnected generating stations. It has more than 527,000 electric power customers and more than 263,000 natural gas customers. Since most of the electrical energy is provided by hydroelectric power, the utility has low electricity rates. Stations in Northern Manitoba are connected by a HVDC system, the Nelson River Bipole, to customers in the south. The internal staff are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 998 while the outside workers are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034.
Waddamana Hydro-Electric power station was the first hydro-electric power plant ever operated by the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Department, opened in 1916.
Hale Dam is a hydroelectric dam in Tanzania, located in the town of Hale in Mnyuzi ward of Korogwe District of Tanga Region. Its installed capacity is 21 megawatts (28,000 hp). Thousands of people were displaced to build the dam.
The Westfield River is a major tributary of the Connecticut River located in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley regions of western Massachusetts. With four major tributary branches that converge west of the city of Westfield, it flows 78.1 miles (125.7 km) before its confluence with the Connecticut River at Agawam, across from the city of Springfield's Metro Center district. Known for its whitewater rapids and scenic beauty, the Westfield River provides over 50 miles (80 km) of whitewater canoeing and kayaking, in addition to one of the largest roadless wilderness areas remaining in the Commonwealth.
The Holyoke Canal System is a system of power canals in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It is split into three canals based on elevation and distance from the inlet at the Holyoke Dam- the First Level Canal, Second Level Canal, and Third Level Canal. Constructed over a period between 1847 and 1892, the Canal System, along with the Dam, is recognized as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for its use in the development of the Venturi meter by Clemens Herschel, the first means of measuring large-scale flows, and the McCormick-Holyoke Turbine by John B. McCormick, which doubled the efficiency of turbines to more than 80% in its time.
The Vulcan Street Plant was the first Edison hydroelectric central station. The plant was built on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, and put into operation on September 30, 1882. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Vulcan Street plant is considered to be "the first hydro-electric central station to serve a system of private and commercial customers in North America". It is a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, an IEEE milestone and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
The Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant, constructed in 1890 near Ophir, Colorado, was one of the first commercial system to produce and transmit alternating current (AC) electricity for industrial use and one of the first AC hydro-electric plants ever constructed. It became operational in 1891 and was built by Westinghouse Electric around two of their large alternators. One was set up in the valley as a generator and driven by water. It was connected by a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) transmission line to the second alternator used as a motor up at the Gold King Mine to drive the mining operation. The facility has been changed and upgraded over the years but is still in operation. It is now on the List of IEEE Milestones.
Hydro Power Company Gorna Arda is a Bulgarian company, established in 1999 by the National Electricity Company and the Turkish Ceylan Holding. It is established after the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between Bulgaria and Turkey for a long-term barter. The Turkish side constructs roads and a cascade of hydropower plants in Bulgaria, and Bulgaria exports energy in return. Three hydro power plants are foreseen to be included in the cascade, placed on the upper stream of Arda river. The groundbreaking was made in the end of 1999, planning to finish the construction of the cascade in 2006. Soon after that the project was frozen due to contradictions between the shareholders. In 2008 the Austrian company EVN expressed its interest in the Gorna Arda project. The company operates on the Bulgarian market since 2005 executing business activities in the field of distribution and trade of electricity in South-Eastern Bulgaria. On September 2, 2009 the government of the Republic of Bulgaria appointed Hydro Power Company Gorna Arda AD as the investor in the Gorna Arda Cascade. The Council of Ministers approved a letter of support for the realization of the investment project. This letter is not a state guarantee, does not burden the state budget and does not raise any financial obligations for the state. NEK, EVN and Alpine Bau expressed their wish to be shareholders in HEC Gorna Arda. In the beginning of 2010 Аlpine Bau reviewed its business development plans and decided to withdraw from the project. Thus only shareholders in the project left NEK and EVN. On July 19, 2010 in the Bulgarian Embassy in Vienna, in the presence of the Bulgarian Prime Minister Mr. Boyko Borissov, shareholders agreement for construction and operation of hydro power cascade Gorna Arda was signed. This contract arranged the collaboration base between NEK and EVN. On behalf Bulgaria the document was signed by Krasimir Parvanov, the CEO of NEK EAD, and on behalf of Austria it was signed by Burkhard Hofer, Chairperson of the Board of Directors in EVN. The establishment of the new company proves the will of EVN and NEK to restore a long time planned project for a hydro power cascade on the upper stream of Arda river in South-Eastern Bulgaria. At the moment the work is based on the technical redesign. The plan is in the region of Madan, Ardino and Kitnitsa to be constructed plants with total capacity up to 170 MW. Up to 350 GWh per year electricity will come from those plants in the Bulgarian network, this amount covers the electricity needs of over 100 000 households.
Binga Dam is a dam in Agno River connected to a hydroelectric power plant situated at Barrio Binga, Barangay Tinongdan in the municipality of Itogon in Benguet province of the Philippines.
Pepperell is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,604 at the 2020 census. It includes the village of East Pepperell. Pepperell is home to the Pepperell Center Historic District, a covered bridge, and the 1901 Lawrence Library. The library has a collection of Sidney M. Shattuck's (1876–1917) stuffed birds.
The McCormick generating station is a dam and power station built on the Manicouagan river by the Quebec & Ontario Paper Company and the Canadian British Aluminium Company 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Baie-Comeau, Quebec, Canada. It is named after colonel Robert R. McCormick (1880–1955), who owned and published the Chicago Tribune.
Outardes-2 is a hydroelectric power station and dam on the Outardes River 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Baie-Comeau, Quebec, Canada. The power station was commissioned in 1978 and is run-of-the-river.
NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation, is an Indian central Public Sector Undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Power and the Government of India, who is engaged in the generation of electricity and other activities. The headquarters of the PSU are situated at New Delhi. NTPC's core function is the generation and distribution of electricity to State Electricity Boards in India. The body also undertakes consultancy and turnkey project contracts that involve engineering, project management, construction management, and operation and management of power plants.
The Lanark Hydro Electric Scheme refers to two hydroelectric plants in the Clydesdale area of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. They take in water from the Falls of Clyde.
Patrind Hydropower Plant is a run-of-the-river, high head project of 110 metres (360 ft), located on Kunhar River near Patrind Village right on the border of Abbottabad District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Muzaffarabad city of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is approximately 138 kilometres (86 mi) from Rawalpindi and Islamabad and about 76 kilometres (47 mi) from Abbottabad city.
Smoky Falls Generating Station is one of four stations in the Lower Mattagami River Hydroelectric Complex owned by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the Moose Cree First Nation. The station is approximately 85 km (53 mi) northeast of Kapuskasing in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario. Smoky Falls was originally commissioned as a 54 MW generating station in 1931 by the Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company but it was sold to OPG's predecessor, Ontario Hydro, in 1991. OPG completed a $2.6 billion upgrade of the four Lower Mattagami dams in 2014 and 2015. The new Smoky Falls was commissioned in late 2014 with a 267.9 MW installed capacity.
The Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant is a 520 MW run-of-river hydroelectric project being constructed on Dhauliganga River in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, India. The plant is expected to generate over 2.5 TWh of electricity annually.
