Abstract
Hydropower plants exploit the energy contained in water as it flows downhill. The water that feeds rivers and streams comes from rain which is produced as a result of the evaporation of water into the atmosphere under the influence of solar heating. The amount of energy that is available from this source can be estimated by calculating the total amount of energy that would be released if all the water falling as rain over a region was allowed to flow to sea level. This provides a rough guide for the gross theoretical hydropower potential. However much of this cannot be exploited and another figure, the technically exploitable hydropower potential, is often used. Such estimates suggest that around 38% of the total global potential has been exploited. Hydropower relies on suitable sites on rivers and projects are categorised depending upon their size as large or small hydropower.
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