ABSTRACT
Hydropower is a renewable energy source where electrical energy is derived from the potential energy of water moving from higher to lower elevations. Hydropower offers significant potential for carbon emission reductions due to generally low greenhouse gas emissions compared both to other renewables and thermal power plants. Hydropower systems can also provide important water management services, like flood control, navigation, water supply and irrigation. Hydropower projects can have a substantial impact on flow regime in rivers, and may lead to negative and positive impact on ecosystem and humans. The slowdown in the decade around 2000 has been explained to be a result of an increasingly negative view on hydropower due to its environmental impacts, and to changes in funding policy for large infrastructure and energy projects. A hydropower plant includes civil structures to store, divert and transport water, and mechanical and electrical components in order to convert energy to mechanical and electrical energy.
