Is There a Residual and Hidden Potential for Small and Micro Hydropower in Europe? A Screening-Level Regional Assessment

Emanuele Quaranta (), Katalin Bódis (), Egidijus Kasiulis (), Aonghus McNabola () and Alberto Pistocchi ()
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Emanuele Quaranta: European Commission Joint Research Centre
Katalin Bódis: Institute of Advanced Studies (iASK)
Egidijus Kasiulis: Vytautas Magnus University
Aonghus McNabola: Trinity College Dublin
Alberto Pistocchi: European Commission Joint Research Centre

Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), 2022, vol. 36, issue 6, No 1, 1745-1762

Abstract: Abstract Small hydropower plants (installed power below 10 MW) are generally considered less impacting than larger plants, and this has stimulated their rapid spread, with a developing potential that is not exhausted yet. However, since they can cause environmental impacts, especially in case of cascade installations, there is the need to operate them in a more sustainable way, e.g. considering ecosystem needs and by developing low-impacting technologies. In this paper, an assessment was conducted to estimate how the environmental flow and the plant spatial density affect the small hydropower potential (considering run-of-river schemes, diversion type, DROR) in the European Union. The potential of DROR is 79 TWh/y under the strictest environmental constraints considered, and 1,710 TWh/y under the laxest constraints. The potential of low-impacting micro technologies (

Keywords: Environmental flow; European assessment; Hydrokinetic; Mill; Small hydro; Water wheel; Water distribution network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11269-022-03084-6

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