Small hydro may have a promising future, especially run-of-the-river hydropower. Dams are not needed, eliminating the major problems of destruction of habitat and large areas by flooding plus the inevitable silting up of dams. Instead, water is diverted to power turbines then released downstream.
The power generated by run-of-the-river hydropwer compares favorably to wind and solar.
“When utilities start comparing our output with that of small wind or medium sized solar projects, their eyes open wide and they become quite interested because they realize that we are generating much more power, and power that is reliable and predictable”