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. Precise 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 is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2015, hydropower generated 16.6% of the world's total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity, and was expected to increase by about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.
The Bhote Koshi Power Plant is a run-of-the-river power plant in Sindhulpalchok District, Nepal. It was constructed between 1997 and 2000 with power generation starting in January 2001. The project cost about US$98 million. The majority of finances was provided by Panda Energy International. The dam, located at 27°56′20″N85°56′42″E, diverts water downstream into a 3,300 m (10,827 ft) long head race tunnel which terminates into two penstocks that supply the two 22 MW Francis turbine-generators with water. The drop in elevation between the dam and power plant affords a normal hydraulic head of 135.5 m (445 ft).
Devoll is a river in southern Albania. It is one of the source rivers of Seman. It is 196 km (122 mi) long and its drainage basin is 3,130 km2 (1,210 sq mi). Its average discharge is 49.5 m3/s (1,750 cu ft/s). Its source is in the southwestern corner of the Devoll municipality, close to the Greek border. It flows initially northeast, through Miras, then north through Bilisht, and northwest through Progër, Pojan, Maliq, Moglicë, Kodovjat, Gramsh, where it is stowed in a big lake and Gostimë, where it turns south. It joins the Osum near Kuçovë, to form the Seman. The Seman opens into a small delta south of the Karavasta lagoon in the Adriatic sea.
The Koshi or Kosi River drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge onwards, the Koshi River is also known as Saptakoshi for its seven upper tributaries. These include the Tamor River originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east and Arun River and Sun Koshi from Tibet. The Sun Koshi's tributaries from east to west are Dudh Koshi, Bhote Koshi, Tamakoshi River, Likhu Khola and Indravati. The Saptakoshi crosses into northern Bihar where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district.
Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project is a 1,450 MW run-of-the-river hydropower connected to the Indus River about 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Attock in Punjab and east of Swabi and Haripur districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Construction of the project that began in 1995 consists of 5 generators each with a maximum power generation capacity of 290MW. Inauguration of the plant on 19 August 2003 by President General Pervez Musharraf also saw the commissioning of the first 2 of the 5 generators i.e. Unit 1 and Unit 2. The last generator was commissioned on 6 April 2004 and the project was completed by that December. It cost US$2.1 billion with funding from Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, European Investment Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
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 and dispatchable electrical power.
Kaligandaki A Hydroelectric Power Station is situated near Mirmi of Syangja District about 300 km to the west of Kathmandu and 100 km from Pokhara in the same direction in Nepal. The hydropower project is also the biggest hydropower project of Nepal. The dam and headworks are situated on the Gandaki River at the confluence of the Andhikhola whereas the power house is located downstream, around a bend in the river, in Beltari. A 5.9 km (3.7 mi) long headrace tunnel connects the reservoir to the power station which contains three 48 MW Francis turbine-generators. Owner and operator of the power plant is Nepal Electricity Authority.
The Sunkoshi, also called Sunkosi, is a trans-boundary river that originates in Tibet Autonomous Region and is part of the Koshi or Saptkoshi River system in Nepal.
The Okutadami Dam (奥只見ダム) is a concrete gravity dam on the Tadami River, 26 km (16 mi) east of Uonuma on the border of Niigata and Fukushima Prefectures, Japan. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports a 560 MW power station which is the largest conventional hydroelectric power station in Japan. The dam also forms the second largest reservoir in Japan, next to that of the Tokuyama Dam.
Renewable energy in Nepal is a sector that is rapidly developing in Nepal. While Nepal mainly relies on hydroelectricity for its energy needs, solar and wind power is being seen as an important supplement to solve its energy crisis.
Jabban (Malakand-I) Hydropower Plant (MHPP-I) is a small, low-head, run-of-the-river hydroelectric power generation station of 22 megawatt generation capacity, located at Jabban, Malakand District, KPK province of Pakistan on the flows of Swat River and about 210 km from Pakistan's Capital Islamabad, 45 km from the city of Mardan and 7 km upstream of 20 MW Dargai Hydropower Plant (Malakand-II). It is a small hydel power generating plant constructed and put in commercial operation on July 1938 generating Average Annual yield of 122 million units (GWh) of least expensive electricity.
Dargai (Malakand-II) Hydropower Plant (MHPP-II) is a small, low-head, run-of-the-river hydroelectric power generation station of about 20 megawatt generation capacity, located at Dargai, Malakand District, KPK province of Pakistan on the flows of Swat River and about 210 km from Pakistan's Capital Islamabad, 45 km from the city of Mardan. It is a small hydel power generating plant constructed and put in commercial operation on December 1952 generating Average Annual yield of 162 million units (GWh) of much needed least expensive electricity.
The Kulekhani Dam is a rock-fill dam on the Kulekhani River near Kulekhani in Makwanpur District of Narayani Zone, Nepal. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports the 60 MW Kulekhani I and 32 MW Kulekhani II Hydropower Stations. Construction began in 1977 and Kulekhani I was commissioned in 1982. Kulekhani II was commissioned in 1986 and a third power station, the 14 MW Kulekhani III was expected to be commissioned in May 2015 but is delayed due to issues with the builder. The project has not been completed until the year 2017 and is expected to generate electricity by the end of 2018. The US$117.84 million project received funding from the World Bank, Kuwait Fund, UNDP, Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund and OPEC Fund. It is owned by Nepal Electricity Authority.
The Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project is a 456 MW peaking run-of-the-river hydroelectric project in Nepal. It is the largest hydroelectric project in Nepal, and is expected to be completed in 2020. It is sited on the Tamakoshi River, a tributary of the Sun Kosi river, near the Nepal–Tibet border.
The Dzoraget Hydroelectric Power Station is situated in Dzoraget village, Lori Region, Armenia. The plant is located on the coast of Debed River, but it uses the flows of the waters of Dzoraget River. Construction of the Dzoraget HPP started in 1927 and it was launched on 15 November 1932 with the full installed capacity of 22.32 MW. As of 1980, the plant uses three generators with an installed capacity of 26.2 MW. The Dzoraget Hydro Power Plant is considered to be small size power plant. There is a little water storage behind the weir, as Dzoraget HPP is a run-of-the-river plant.
There is enormous potential for renewable energy in Kazakhstan, particularly from wind and small hydropower plants. The Republic of Kazakhstan has the potential to generate 10 times as much power as it currently needs from wind energy alone. But renewable energy accounts for just 0.6 percent of all power installations. Of that, 95 percent comes from small hydropower projects. The main barriers to investment in renewable energy are relatively high financing costs and an absence of uniform feed-in tariffs for electricity from renewable sources. The amount and duration of renewable energy feed-in tariffs are separately evaluated for each project, based on feasibility studies and project-specific generation costs. Power from wind, solar, biomass and water up to 35 MW, plus geothermal sources, are eligible for the tariff and transmission companies are required to purchase the energy of renewable energy producers. An amendment that introduces and clarifies technology-specific tariffs is now being prepared. It is expected to be adopted by Parliament by the end of 2014. In addition, the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business indicator shows the country to be relatively investor-friendly, ranking it in 10th position for investor protection.
