Small Hydropower Systems: Permitting and Selling Excess Power

Part 4 of Small Hydropower Systems. Obtaining a Permit and Water Rights  If your hydropower system will have minimal impact on the environment, and you aren’t planning to sell power to a utility, there’s a good chance that the process you must go through to obtain a permit won’t be too complex. Locally, your first […]

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Small Hydropower System Components

Part 3 of Small Hydropower Systems. Small run-of-the-river hydropower systems consist of these basic components:  Water conveyance—channel, pipeline, or pressurized pipeline (penstock) that delivers the water  Turbine or waterwheel—transforms the energy of flowing water into rotational energy  Alternator or generator—transforms the rotational energy into electricity  Regulator—controls the generator  Wiring—delivers the electricity.  Many systems also use […]

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Is Hydropower Right for You?

Part 2 of Small Hydropower Systems. Of course to build a small hydropower system, you need access to flowing water. A sufficient quantity of falling water must be available, which usually, but not always, means that hilly or mountainous sites are best.  Next you’ll want to determine the amount of power that you can obtain […]

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Small Hydropower Systems

Part 1 of Small Hydropower Systems. If you’re considering building a small hydropower system on water flowing through your property, you have a long tradition from which to draw your inspiration. Two thousand years ago, the Greeks learned to harness the power of running water to turn the massive wheels that rotated the shafts of […]

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