Promoting renewable energies - RETS Project

Small Scale Hydro Technologies
Introduction
Water or Hydropower is not a new technology and was
probably the most important source of motive power by
the 16 th century in Europe. However the simple
‘overshot’, ‘undershot’ and ‘breastshot’ water wheels
have become the more modern, Francis, Kaplan, Pelton
and Turgo turbines of the 21 st century. Nevertheless the
underlying principle is the same that of converting the
potential energy change of a falling water source into
kinetic and rotational energy and the connection of a
rotating shaft to an electrical generator.
Annual hydro-sourced electricity production was
approximately 46,000 GWh across the region the league
of generators mirroring installed capacity. It is estimated
that employment linked with the manufacture and
deployment of this technology across the EU is almost
16,000 with the employment league again mirroring
national installed capacity.
The market is valued to be around €2,700 million.
Small-scale hydroelectric power, Eco Centre Wales
EU resource assessment
There is little remaining potential for new large scale
hydropower schemes in the EU however the small scale
(