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ECONOMICS : What Makes a Good Run-of-River Hydro Scheme?

One requirement is that the outfall from the powerhouse has, for fishery and water quality reasons, to discharge to the river from which abstraction took place. This does not mean that the powerhouse must be situated alongside that river. Indeed there are often landscape and ecological reasons why sites away from river banks have merit e.g. within established woodland or amongst other buildings.

Hydrological and topographical factors must also be considered. These include the difference in water level from intake to powerhouse (head), the expected river flow through the year and the proportion of this which may be extracted.