Small Scale Hydro Opportunities in Rural Locations

Hydro Power makes use of the potential energy that

water at a certain height has. In order to know how
much power can be produced, certain variables are
required. The main ones are: the difference in height
(also called head) and the flow rate. The installation
of a hydro power system will require specific
conditions in order to be able to take advantage of
these required variables. The following figure shows
a typical mini-hydro scheme.

Figure 1. Typical mini-hydro scheme

Source: Practical Action, Micro-Hydro power - Technical brief

Typically a small scale hydro system is located
beside a river or stream; using it as the source and
the topography as the difference in height. The head
will be the difference in height between the water
chamber or forebay tank and powerhouse (see figure
1), where the water goes through the penstock.

In the scheme showed, a channel is used between

the intake and the forebay tank. The use of this
channel or similar structures will depend on the
particular conditions of each location. Other options
include being able to reduce the channel or even use
the intake directly as the beginning of the penstock
(instead of the channel), or include a channel
between the powerhouse and stream to return the
water.