Articles and project news on small-scale water power, written for people planning their first scheme.
This blog records what we learn while planning, permitting and building small hydro schemes. Posts are written after the work is done, so that the figures, drawings and mistakes described are those that were actually encountered on site.
Articles follow the same sequence as the guide itself: site assessment, design, permits, construction and operation.
Site assessment
Reports on flow measurement, head surveys and the choice between run-of-river and storage layouts.
Applications and conditions
Notes on abstraction licences, environmental conditions and how they shape the design before construction begins.
Construction and upkeep
Accounts of installation, commissioning tests, and the routine checks that keep a scheme running through each season.
New articles are added to this listing as they are reviewed. Each post names the stage of the guide it supports, so readers can move between the blog and the step-by-step pages.
Published articles will appear below this introduction. Until then, the step-by-step pages are the best place to start.
Start with the service stages, read the common questions, or get in touch.
Before you spend a penny on a turbine, a penstock, or a planning consultant, you need two numbers: head and flow. These figures decide whether a site is viable or a non-starter.…