WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

Table 2
Classification of small hydropower in Eastern Europe
Country
Small
(MW)
Mini
(MW)
Micro
(kW)
Pico
(kW)
Belarus a up to 10 5–100 up to 5
Bulgaria b up to 10
Czech Rep. b up to 10
Hungary b up to 5
Poland b up to 5
Rep. of Moldova ..
Romania b up to 10
Russian
up to 30
Federation c
Slovakia b up to 10
Ukraine ..
Sources
a
Belarusian web portal on Renewable Energy. 10 This value may not be
official.
b
European Small Hydropower Association 11
c
International Journal on Hydropower and Dams 1
Regional overview and potential
All 10 countries in the region use small hydropower with
a wide range of contributions to their national grids:
from 0.1 per cent to 100 per cent. Support mechanisms
for small hydropower exist in most countries in the
region through tradable green certificates (Poland,
Romania), investment support scheme (Slovakia), and
feed-in tariffs (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Ukraine ii ).
While legislative frameworks to support small-scale,
alternative or renewable energy exist in Belarus,
Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation,
concrete financial support mechanisms for small
hydropower remain undefined. Meanwhile the Water
Framework Directive is being implemented in all EU
member states and its implementation might cause
higher residual flow requirements for small hydropower
and an increase in their operating costs.
Table 3
Small hydropower up to 10 MW in Eastern Europe
Country
Potential
(MW)
Planned
(MW)
Installed
capacity
(MW)
Generation
(GWh/year)
Belarus at least 15.0 .. 15.0 28
Bulgaria 380.0 117.0 263.0 630
Czech
465.0 43.0 297.0 1 159
Republic
Hungary 28.0 14.0 14.0 67
Rep. of Moldova 1.3 1.2 0.1 ..
Poland 332.0 57.0 275.0 1 036
Romania 730.0 343.0 387.0 719
Russian Federation a 1 300.0 .. 1 300.0 ..
Slovakia 140.0 60.0 80.0 303
Ukraine b 104.0 .. 104.0 250
Total 3 495 .3 635.2 n2735. 1 4 192
Sources: See country reports
Notes: The total small hydropower potential given for all countries
(except the Russian Federation and Ukraine) is based on the estimated
installed capacity by 2020.
a. The Russian Federation has a technical feasible potential of 350 000
GWh/year for plants up to 30 MW. 1
b. Ukraine has planned 2,900 GWh/year. 1
The total small hydropower installed capacity in the 10
Eastern European countries is approximately 2,735 MW
(table 3). The largest country, the Russian Federation,
has the highest installed capacity at 1,300 MW. The
countries with the least hydropower capacity are
Belarus and Republic of Moldova. The small
hydropower potential is estimated to be over 3,495 MW
(table 3) in the region.
In both the Russian Federation and Belarus the number
of installed small hydropower plants used to be much
higher, mainly for the purpose of rural electrification of
remote areas but as the main electricity grid was
developed, many of the plants were shut down due to
the lack of economic incentive coupled with a lack of
expertise for maintenance. 12
The Stream Map project iii reveals that during the last 10
years new small hydropower potential has been greatly
affected by the environmental legislation that falls
under areas that are designated, such as EU Natura
2000, the EU Water Framework Directive and others.
Environmental mitigation measures will add to the costs
of electricity generation, limiting further the economic
potential of small hydropower. These environmental
limitations are imposed, for example, in Slovakia where
only 38 per cent of economic feasible potential is
realizable in the current situation. 13
Note
i. The Visegrad Four, also known as the Visegrad Group
or simply V4, reflects the efforts of the Central
European countries to work together in a number of
fields of common interest within the all-European
integration.
ii. The feed-in tariff in Ukraine is usually called green
tariff.
iii. The Stream Map project was co-funded by the
Intelligent Energy Europe Programme of the European
Commission. It aimed to define a clear and consistent
roadmap in Europe for the small hydropower sector.
The project was completed in 2012.
References
1. International Journal on Hydropower and Dams
(2011). World Atlas and Industry Guide 2011. Surrey, UK:
Aquamedia International
316