[[Image:micro hydro icon.png{{Language-box|rightenglish_link= Water Portal / Rainwater Harvesting / Surface water / Micro hydropower |100px]][[Image:micro hydro.jpgfrench_link= Coming soon |thumbspanish_link= Coming soon |right|250px|The Tungu-Kabiri community hydro project. The Tungu-Kabri micro-hydro power project in Kenya is a cheap, sustainable and small-scale technology that harnesses the energy of falling water to make electricity. Photo: [http:hindi_link= वाटर पोर्टल /वर्षाजल संचयन /microhydropower.netसतही जल /ke/Tungu-Kabiri/03.php microhydropower.net.]]]लघु पनबिजली | malayalam_link= Coming soon | tamil_link= Coming soon | korean_link= Coming soon | chinese_link=微型水电 | indonesian_link= Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Mikrohidro | japanese_link= Coming soon }}
[[Image:micro hydro icon.png|right|80px]][[Image:micro hydro.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Tungu-Kabiri community hydro project. The Tungu-Kabri micro-hydro power project in Kenya is a cheap, sustainable and small-scale technology that harnesses the energy of falling water to make electricity. Photo: [http://microhydropower.net/ke/Tungu-Kabiri/03.php microhydropower.net.]]][[Image:Cameroon micro hydro.jpg|thumb|right|250px200px|Building a Community-based Microhydro Project in Cameroon. Photo: Terri Hathaway.]][[Image:woman micro hydro.jpg|thumb|right|200px| Micro-hydro Southern Africa. A woman and child standing by a constructed channel used for the micro-hydro system. The water is also used for irrigating local farmers crops via plastic pipes. Photo: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/practicalaction/4560271858/ Practical Action.]]]
[[Image:woman micro hydro.jpg|thumb|right|250px| Micro-hydro Southern Africa. A woman and child standing by a constructed channel used for the micro-hydro system. The water is also used for irrigating local farmers crops via plastic pipes. Photo: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/practicalaction/4560271858/ Practical Action.]]] '''Micro hydroelectric power ''' is different from typical hydroelectric power because it doesn't attempt to significantly interfere with the flow of the river. Typically rated at a maximum capacity of 300 kW hours, the micro hydro systems don't dam rivers, but instead divert a stream of water that flows downhill through a pipeline dropping into the turbine. The turbine then generates electricity which can be stored in batteries and transported to where villagers may need it most.
'''Communities and hydropower'''<br>
Hydropower installations up to 300 kW of installed capacity are able to provide essential energy services to many rural areas in Africa, including mechanical power for services like maize grinding and electricity connections for individual households and small businesses. For most rural African communities, it could be many years until the grid comes near enough to their towns to be practical. But most rural Africans also live closer to a river than to the grid. What is needed is greater support for helping communities tap into their local power, especially technical help, financial assistance and guidance in how to operate and maintain the system. A microhydro plant, while relatively low cost and low tech, may still strain local resources. Although the costs of microhydro are very site specific, communities can help bring down the capital required by in-kind contributions specifically for the civil works required (diversion weir, intake, canal, etc.).
===Suitable conditions===
Unlike traditional power stations that use fossil fuels, micro-hydro generators have practically no effect on the environment. And because they don’t depend on dams to store and direct water, they’re also better for the environment than large-scale hydro-electric stations.
* '''Data on hydro resources''': Linked to the limited knowledge about the technology is the lack of proper resource data on water availability and flow on which hydro developments can be based.
===Construction, operations and maintenance===[[Image:micro hydro set up.jpg|thumb|centernone|400px500px|A micro-hydro power set up. Click image to zoom in. Drawing: [http://practicalaction.org/micro-hydro-power-3 Practical Action.]]]
===Costs===
The cost varies from approximately £1,200 to £4,000 per installed kW, when using appropriate technologies, which are much cheaper than using conventional approaches and technologies.
An important observation is that the cost per installed kilowatt is higher than the figures usually cited in literature. This is partly due to the difficulty analysts have in establishing full costs on a genuinely comparative basis. A significant part of micro hydro costs can be met with difficult to value labour provided by the local community as ‘sweat equity’. Meaningful dollar values for local costs are difficult to establish when they are inflating and rapidly depreciating relative to hard currencies. In addition, there is little consistency in the definition of boundaries of the systems being compared, for instance, how much of the distribution cost, or house wiring, is included, how much of the cost of the civil works contribute to water management and irrigation, and so forth.
===Field experiences===
* There are approximately 130 MHP plants66 currently in operation in Sri Lanka. Most are less than 100 kW in capacity.
* [http://microhydropower.net/ke/Tungu-Kabiri/ The Tungu-Kabiri community hydro project.]
India has an estimated SHP potential of about 15 000 MW. So far, from 495 SHP projects, an aggregate installed capacity of 1693 MW has been installed. Besides these, 170 SHP projects with an installed capacity of 479 MW are under implementation. The database for SHP projects created by the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) now includes 4233 potential sites, with a total capacity of 10 324 MW.
==Reference manuals=Manuals, videos, and links=======Videos==== * [http{|style="border: 1px solid #fofofo; font-size: 125%"|-|{{#ev:youtube|iHBRf2bUNXU|200|auto|<center>Micro Hydro Turbines:<br>The Expert</center>}}|{{#ev:youtube|vKQ6t0000Kc|200|auto|<center>Micro-hydro in Peru, <br>by Practical Action</green.blogs.nytimes.comcenter>}}|{{#ev:youtube|shwGBLYR2dM|200|auto|<center>Micro-hydro in Kenya <br>Hart-Davis, by <br>Practical Action</2009center>}} |{{#ev:youtube|dXBYbRCx0JQ|200|auto|<center>Micro Hydro Power Plant - Indonesia</09/30/thecenter>}} |-rise|{{#ev:youtube|qgReEsFf4oU|200|auto|<center>Hydroelectricity -ofSmall <br>hydro-microelectric power <br>plants, Part 1</center>}}|{{#ev:youtube|tMhbCe2vmzo|200|auto|<center>Hydroelectricity -Small <br>hydro-projectselectric power <br>plants, Part 2</center>}}|{{#ev:youtube|-OAnHkXeGSw|200|auto|<center>Philippines Ifugao-inAmbangal <br>Mini-africahydro Project</ The Rise of Micro-Hydro Projects in Africa.]center>}}|} * Video: [http://youtublip.betv/mobile-school-for-water-and-sanitation/iHBRf2bUNXU Micro Hydro Turbines: The Experthydroelectricity-small-hydroelectric-power-plants-2468916 Hydroelectricity - Small hydroelectric power plants.]EMAS methods. (The 4th video above, but with sound) ====Other resources====* Video: [http://practicalactionwww.indiawaterportal.org/videoarticles/view/micro_hydro_peru/ Microcase-against-small-hydro in Peruhydropower A case against small hydropower]. by Practical ActionSmall hydel projects are often hailed as sustainable models of power production but they spark an equal number of contentious issues much like the bigger projects.* Video: [http://www.youtubeenergynext.comin/watch?v=shwGBLYR2dM Micromicro-hydro in Kenya - Adam Hartprojects-light-villages-Davis.northeast/ Micro hydro projects to light up villages in Northeast] by Practical Action. * BLOG: [http://wwwgreen.blogs.builditsolarnytimes.com/Projects2009/09/Hydro30/hydro.htm Small Scale Hydro]: Here are some good references for planning, designing, and building a the-rise-of-micro-hydro system. The first step is to carefully determine if you have a hydro resource that is worth developing -projects-in- some africa/ The Rise of the references cover how to do this Micro-Hydro Projects in detailAfrica.]
* [http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/micro-hydro-powers-rural-development-in-cameroon-1937 Micro-Hydro Powers Rural Development in Cameroon.]
* Article: [http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/can-micro-hydro-boost-economic-development-in-rural-africa/4249/ Can micro hydro boost economic development in rural Africa?]
* [http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Hydro/hydro.htm Small Scale Hydro]: Here are some good references for planning, designing, and building a micro-hydro system. The first step is to carefully determine if you have a hydro resource that is worth developing -- some of the references cover how to do this in detail.* S.D.B. Taylor and D. Upadhyay. [http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CE8QFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.esha.be%2Ffileadmin%2Fesha_files%2Fdocuments%2Fpublications%2Farticles%2FIT_Power_final/fileadmin/esha_files/documents/publications/articles/IT_Power_final.pdf&ei=MqFGUNCkLoGGjAK0zoFI&usg=AFQjCNFFDK_Y4WElleEUrK7jjolFACh9Eg&sig2=2zgA5XJC0n3dvBjHR4dSSg Sustainable markets for small hydro in developing countries.] Hydropower & Dams Issue Three, 2005. IT Power, UK.
===Acknowledgements===* Smail Khennas and Andrew Barnett, [httphttps://wwwpracticalaction.google.comorg/docs/energy/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.afghaneic.org%2Frenewable%2F2%2520bestpractsynthebestpractsynthe.pdf&ei=MqFGUNCkLoGGjAK0zoFI&usg=AFQjCNHv7vRNvwGz8U1059xu_tUdcJrbGw&sig2=INb3UZt_h-hDaV74TIoQvg BEST PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF MICRO HYDRO POWER IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES], Department for International Development, UK. March 2000.
* [http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/small-hydro-a-potential-bridge-for-africa%E2%80%99s-energy-divide-7649 Small Hydro a Potential Bridge for Africa’s Energy Divide.] International Rivers. August 23, 2012.
* [http://practicalaction.org/micro-hydro-power-3 Micro-hydro power]. Practical Action.
