Is There a Residual and Hidden Potential for Small and Micro Hydropower in Europe? A Screening-Level Regional Assessment

Abstract

Small hydropower plants (installed power below 10 MW) are generally considered less impacting than larger plants, and this has stimulated their rapid spread, with a developing potential that is not exhausted yet. However, since they can cause environmental impacts, especially in case of cascade installations, there is the need to operate them in a more sustainable way, e.g. considering ecosystem needs and by developing low-impacting technologies. In this paper, an assessment was conducted to estimate how the environmental flow and the plant spatial density affect the small hydropower potential (considering run-of-river schemes, diversion type, DROR) in the European Union. The potential of DROR is 79 TWh/y under the strictest environmental constraints considered, and 1,710 TWh/y under the laxest constraints. The potential of low-impacting micro technologies (< 100 kW) was also assessed, showing that the economic potential of hydrokinetic turbines in rivers is 1.2 TWh/y, that of water wheels in old mills is 1.6 TWh/y, and the hydropower potential of water and wastewater networks is 3.1 TWh/y, at an average investment cost of 5,000 €/kW.

[Retracted] Exploration and Analysis of the Educational Management of University Students in the Context of Environmental Constraints

“…It was ensured that the students themselves were able to realize that their own development is closely related to the future of the country to be responsible for themselves, for society and for their families. Thus they could enter socialism with Chinese characteristics on their own under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and meet the basic requirements for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, so that the teaching staff and the students could firmly believe in and establish common ideals and realize the guidance of self-awareness [ 10 ] Yu, et al found that it was in this context that Marxist beliefs could be strengthened. Students could develop holistically within higher education institutions.…”

Assessment of the electro-mechanical equipment’s weight of the European hydropower fleet

“…Most of mini hydropower plants (< 1 MW) are not covered by the database; nevertheless, power plants below 1 MW represent 3 GW of the EU hydropower fleet (1.9%) 24 , of which a negligible share is represented by unconventional turbines, e.g. water wheels, Archimedes screws and Very Low Head (VLH) turbines.…”

Securing an Alternate Power Source for Dhaka City through Renewable Energy Generation

“…Hydroelectric power has also been evaluated as a potential renewable energy source in urban areas. Micro-hydropower systems can be installed in urban areas to generate electricity from small streams or water sources (Boroomandnia et al, 2022;Quaranta et al, 2022). The study suggested that micro-hydropower systems could be used to power street lights, tra c signals, and other public infrastructure, reducing the dependence on grid power and improving the reliability of power supply.…”