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.
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 Bay D'Espoir Hydroelectric Development, built by the Newfoundland and Labrador Power Commission is located on the south coast of Newfoundland near the rural community of Bay d'Espoir. It was the second major hydroelectric project undertaken on Newfoundland.
The Hinds Lake Generating Station is a hydroelectric power plant located within the Newfoundland Highland forests ecoregion, in western Newfoundland on the eastern shore of Grand Lake. It makes use of 220 m of head between Hinds Lake on the Buchans plateau and Grand Lake.
The Cat Arm Generating Station is located on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland and makes use of 380.5 m of head between the reservoir and White Bay. Each of the two units operates with an average rated flow of 20 m3/s to generate a total 127 MW of electrical power with an average annual production of 733 GWh. The two 63.5 MW units, equipped with pelton turbines, were first synchronized on February 10 and 12, 1985.
The Paradise River Hydroelectric Generating Station is a hydroelectric generating plant located near the mouth of the Paradise River in Newfoundland and Labrador. The plant is owned by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, and was first synchronized in 1989. It operates with an average rated flow of 25 m3/s to generate 8 MW of electrical power, with an average annual production of 37 GWh. The unit is equipped with a Francis runner. The project, which operates under a run-of-river philosophy, has a 43m high concrete arch dam with an overflow spillway, the largest structure of this design in Eastern North America.
The Granite Canal Hydroelectric Generating Station is a component of the Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro Corporation's Bay d’Espoir Hydro Electric Development system. The generating station has a rated capacity of 40 MW with an annual average energy production of 224 gigawatt hours (GWh). The generating unit at Granite Canal utilizes approximately 37 metres of head with a rated plant flow of 122.4 cubic metres per second. The unit is equipped with a Kaplan turbine and was first synchronized on May 26, 2003.
The Petty Harbour Hydro Electric Generating Station is a hydroelectric generating station in Petty Harbour–Maddox Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador. It was constructed in 1898 and it was the first hydroelectric generating station in Newfoundland. It was built by the St. John's Street Railway Company, a company established by Robert Reid. Operation commenced on 19 April 1900.
Port Union is a historical community overlooking Trinity Bay and Catalina Harbour, on the east side of the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is the only union-built town in North America.
Sandy Cove is a town located on the Eastport Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located on Newman Sound, which is part of Bonavista Bay. It had a population of 120 in the 2021 census.
Bay d'Espoir is an arm of Hermitage Bay in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, located on the south coast of Newfoundland. Communities in Bay d'Espoir include: Milltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir, Morrisville, St. Alban's, St. Joseph's Cove, St. Veronica's and Miawpukek. The Miawpukek First Nation reserve of Samiajij Miawpukek is located in Bay d'Espoir.
The Nelson River Hydroelectric Project refers to the construction of a series of dams and hydroelectric power plants on the Nelson River in Northern Manitoba, Canada. The project began to take shape in the late 1950s, with the planning and construction of the Kelsey dam and hydroelectric power station, and later was expanded to include the diversion of the upper Churchill River into the Nelson River and the transformation of Lake Winnipeg, the world's 11th largest freshwater lake, into a hydroelectric reservoir. The project is owned and operated by Manitoba Hydro, the electrical utility in the province.
The Nizhny Novgorod Hydroelectric Station or Nizhny Novgorod GES is a hydroelectric station on the Volga river. Located near Zavolzhye, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, it belongs to the Volga-Kama Cascade of dams.
Jackson's Arm is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on White Bay. It was settled by John Wicks of Christchurch, England, around 1870. The Post Office was established in 1892 and the first Postmistress was Belinda Peddle. The town had a population of 435 in 1956 and 277 as of the 2021 Canadian census. The primary industry of the town is fishing. In 2012, the local fish plant closed.
Millertown is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador on the north-east side of Beothuk Lake. The town had a population of 87 in the Canada 2021 Census.
Planura is a municipality in the west of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2020 the population was 12,292 in a total area of 318 km2. It became a municipality in 1962.
Presa Sangregado Dam is a high-earthen hydroelectric dam on the south-east shore of Lake Arenal in the Guanacaste Province of northwest Costa Rica. The dam is 288 feet (88 m) and 184 feet (56 m) high. The installed hydroelectric capacity is 157 megawatts. The hydroelectric power plant is operated by Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad.
The Star Lake Hydroelectric Generating Station is a hydroelectric generating plant located at Star Lake in central Newfoundland. The plant is owned by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, and was first synchronized in 1998. It operates with a single vertical Francis turbine with a 450 ft head and a 173 million cubic metre capacity storage reservoir to generate 18.4 MW of electrical power.
The Menihek Hydroelectric Generating Station is a conventional hydroelectric generating station at Menihek Lake in Labrador. The dam and powerhouse are located in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, 40 km (25 mi) south of the isolated town of Schefferville, Quebec and two First Nations communities: Matimekosh-Lac-John and Kawawachikamach. The generating station, two 69 kV power lines and the distribution networks in each community form an independent electricity network, off the main North American grid.
The Koma Kulshan Project is a 13.3 MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation facility on the slopes of Mount Baker, a stratovolcano in Washington state's North Cascades. The project commenced commercial operation in October 1990, and is owned by a Covanta Energy–Atlantic Power joint venture. It supplies Puget Sound Energy via a Power Supply Agreement (PSA) contract. Its single turbine is a Pelton wheel supplied by Sulzer Escher Wyss.
