Hydropower - Hydropower Types

Hydropower Types

Hydropower is used primarily to generate electricity. Broad categories include:

• Conventional hydroelectric, referring to hydroelectric dams.
• Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity, which captures the kinetic energy in rivers or streams, without the use of dams.
• Small hydro projects are 10 megawatts or less and often have no artificial reservoirs.
• Micro hydro projects provide a few kilowatts to a few hundred kilowatts to isolated homes, villages, or small industries.
• Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores water pumped during periods of low demand to be released for generation when demand is high.