ABSTRACT

Rising energy demand for a growing population is one of the challenges in the near future. With sustainable development in the foreground, energy production using renewable sources has gained importance. The impact of large-scale hydropower projects in monetary as well as environmental terms has opened new avenues for power generation using small hydropower units. Changes in national policies are enabling small hydropower generation in many countries to cover growing demand. The energy production is meant for local grids and can provide area wide coverage. The increase in energy demand and the awareness of sustainability has led to the development of clean energy systems. Of these renewable energy sources, only hydropower produces constant energy at all times barring extreme events like drought or floods. Large-scale hydropower is deployed in areas with sufficient infrastructure requirements like advanced control systems and high-voltage transmission grids, the stakeholders being multinational or national power generation companies.