Overview

For those of you who are blessed with property which has access to flowing water you could be looking at a real bargain.  Small hydro power has one of the best returns on investment of any renewable energy source.  A hydro system can cost one tenth that of a photovoltaic solar system of comparable energy output.  The fact is that flowing water is extremely powerful (as in full of power) and has a very high inherent energy value.

Water energy has long been a major resource of energy in the US and throughout the world.  Hydroelectric plants provide 7% of the energy we got off the grid in the U.S. and 21% of the grid energy in Canada.  It is, in fact, the most widely used renewable energy resource.  Generating energy from electricity is no longer limited just to the huge Hoover Dam style hydroelectric plants we saw in our textbooks as kids.  In recent years there has been a significant amount of progress in the development of small and efficient water turbines which can be used to power individual homes and small businesses.  These turbines, often called microhydro turbines, are designed to handle a wide variety of water conditions and are extremely affordable.

In this section you can find out specific details on small water turbines as well as information that will allow you to determine if your property has the potential for water energy generation. If you wish to do an in depth study of this topic we recommend you look at the Resources section where you can find listings of books, magazines and article about hydro power.  Also, you might want to consider joining one of the many organizations who support this approach to energy generation.  You can find out about them by looking in our Organizations section.  Go with the flow :)