27 Years Experiences of Small Hydro Electric Power Generating Units Made in China Installed in USA and Central America. It´s Future World Market

Low impact small hydroelectric plants can be built under the experienced engineering, procurement and construction groups at minimal cost per kW. Reliable and efficient small hydro electric turbine generators with embedded automatic parts such as RTD, speed, pressure, flow rate sensors are available. Small hydro plants are built for non-attended, equipped with SCADA system. The present government, local and legal requirements for getting permits to build SHP often takes several years. Methods of weighing environmental and regulatory requirements must be simplified. The recent built small hydro electric plants prove the generating cost per kWh is competitive with all other resources. The added advantage of SHP provides the dispersed generation with voltage and VAr compensations should be recognized. The implementation of small hydroelectric project usually takes multi-disciplinary efforts. Few individuals have the depth of knowledge of each aspect of hydropower to perform all the tasks. The use of standardized packages now available from many manufacturers provides the essentials for the planner and decision maker who needs to overcome the constraints and reduce SHP costs. With energy needs risings and ever growing need for cleaner energy sources, a technical and integrated marketing of renewable energy programs should be scheduled for the future.