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Hydropower

Hydropower is the extraction of energy from a flow of water. Potential energy from a drop in height is converted into kinetic energy. Small scale ‘run of river’ hydro schemes do not use a dam. Water is diverted from the watercourse (river or stream) and passed down a pipe, developing pressure due to the drop or ‘head’. The water is then passed through a turbine causing it to spin and thus turn a generator. The water then returns into the watercourse. The key factors for the feasibility of a hydropower scheme are the head and flow. Although it advantageous to have high heads and high flows, the presence of either can make for a feasible project – ie. High head and low flow or vice-versa. RDES deals with all scales of small scale hydropower (anything under 5 MW) from commercial projects down to domestic projects of a few kW.

Figure 1 - Small Scale Hydro Installation

Small scale hydropower is extremely efficient and has low environmental impact. Although initially expensive, the costs per kWh of the energy over the lifetime of the project are very low compared to other forms of generation. Hydropower can be grid connected allowing maximum use to be made of the available resource or can used to provide reliable off grid power. 

RDES offer an extensive array of services relating to small hydropower. These include:

• Site visits and pre-feasibility studies
• Flow monitoring
• System designs
• Project management
• Project development,
• Environmental works
• Tenders, Specifications, Contracts
• Equipment supply
• Installation and Commissioning