Small hydropower: still going forward!

In Switzerland and in the European Union, up to now, small hydropower (SHP) (less than 10 MW) is one of the main renewable electricity sources. To face the present political context which tends to slow down its development, three solutions: to use optimally the water resource through suitable, efficient and economical technologies by raising the quality level, to develop multipurpose schemes and to export know-how. The paper aims at giving an overview of the Swiss market regarding small turbines devoted to SHP with an opening on the European market. After an overview of the different technologies, the main success keys are described. Then the experience of Switzerland regarding turbines set within water networks is introduced. Finally the objective of the paper is to show that efficient technologies with a strong SHP know-how are already available on the market, but in front of the remaining potentials, the political and economic context, there is still a field for R&D and commercial development abroad.