Standard Modular Hydropower: Case Study on Modular Facility Design
Hydropower is a reliable, cost-effective, and widely deployed method of harnessing the power of river systems for human benefit.The undeveloped technical hydropower resource in the United States consists overwhelmingly of sites with small hydropower potential of less than 10 MW of installed capacity. Most existing hydropower projects and the bulk of proposed projects in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission development pipeline are also small hydropower projects. However, the rate of development of new small hydropower projects is at a historical low because of the risks, costs, and uncertainty associated with project development. An acute challenge is the identification and mitigation of adverse environmental impacts, such as alterations to streamflow and water quality and the introduction of barriers that threaten geomorphologic processes and the resiliency of ecological communities. Success in new small hydropower development demands that low-cost, innovative approaches be developed to decrease the adverse environmental impacts of construction and operation.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1484123
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2018/915
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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