| Spotlight
“I am confident that this report will contribute to the global effort to build sustainable energy systems that will help mitigate the climate crisis and empower communities,” Müller said.
Small hydro worldwide According to this 2022 report, the global installed
capacity for small hydro plants of up to 10MW is estimated at approximately 79GW, with the total known potential (including developed capacities) at 221.7GW. However due to differing local definitions, data on plants of up to 10MW are unavailable in some countries, especially those with very developed small hydro sectors such as India, and so the global installed and potential capacity can be assumed to be somewhat higher than reported totals. In comparison with the previous edition of WSHPDR which was published in 2019, installed small hydro capacity (up to 10MW) had increased by 1% by 2022, while at the same time, the estimated potential decreased by 3%. The latter is based on more accurate data obtained for countries including Norway, Turkey and the Philippines, as well as due to the lack of data in others.
Africa has reported the greatest relative increase in installed SHP capacity compared to the last report, with an increase of almost 23%. The Americas, Europe and Oceania have also seen an increase in installed capacity of approximately 11%, 4% and 3%, respectively. In absolute terms, the report states that the largest increase in installed capacity is in Europe at 734MW, followed by the Americas with 698MW and Africa with 134MW of new capacity. Asia continues to have the largest installed capacity and potential for SHP, accounting for 64% and 63% of the global total, respectively. China continues to dominate the global landscape, with 53% of the world’s total SHP installed capacity and approximately 29% of the world’s total known potential. While in terms of installed capacity, China is followed by the US, Italy, Japan, and Norway, with these five countries accounting for almost 71% of the world’s total installed capacity of small hydro up to 10MW.
Africa
Looking at Africa, WSHDR2022 explains it has a relatively low level of installed capacity of 729MW but considerable potential for development with estimates of 15,714MW. However, potential varies as climatic and topographic characteristics differ tremendously across the continent. Of all African countries, Uganda has the highest installed capacity of 108MW, whereas Kenya has the highest estimated potential of 3000MW.
Americas
Northern America and South America dominate the landscape here, with Brazil and the US being leaders in terms of installed capacity while the US also dominates in terms of known potential. Although countries in the Caribbean region have significantly smaller estimated potential it has been suggested that further studies could reveal a greater potential in the region. Total small hydro capacity in the Americas is 6937MW, with an estimated potential of 25,294MW. While according to available data, approximately 27% of known potential capacity in the Americas has
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been developed. In the current report, potential has significantly decreased compared to the previous edition – mainly due to the re-estimation of Colombian potential. And while some countries have an expected enormous potential, feasibility studies haven’t been carried out to determine their exact capacity. Mexico is one such country.
Asia
Asia has vast but unevenly distributed small hydro resources. With a total installed capacity of 50,406MW and an estimated potential of 139,946MW, approximately 36% has so far been developed. As expected, China also dominates the SHP landscape in Asia, accounting for over 83% of the continent’s installed capacity and 45% of known potential.
As the 2022 report states, small hydro development is one of the major priorities for countries in Asia and is being used to help decrease dependency on energy imports and fossil fuels, and improve access to electricity, especially in rural areas.
Europe Europe has a long history of development with an installed capacity of 20,434MW and a potential capacity estimated at 39,607MW. An increase in installed capacity since WSHPDR 2019 is mainly due to new capacities being added in Norway, Italy, and Albania. SHP potential varies across the region due to a wide variety of climates and landscapes. The greatest remaining potential is concentrated in Northern Europe, primarily in Norway. Italy is the leader in the continent in terms of installed capacity, followed by Norway and France.
Below: Small hydropower capacities of up to 10MW by continent (MW)
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