Small Hydro Fact Sheet

There are already a number of small hydro schemes on rivers and streams around New Zealand, and there are many more opportunities to use this energy resource to provide electricity to remote farms, homes and holiday retreats.

Most of New Zealand's electricity is generated from hydro power stations. These generators convert the energy that is available in falling water into electricity. The water can either be stored in large lakes or dammed rivers (a storage scheme) before being passed through hydro turbines, or can be ‘run of river' (without significant storage) where part of a river's flow is passed through a turbine before being returned to the river.

These principles are the same, whether it is the Clyde Dam generating enough electricity for 250,000 houses, or a 1kW system suitable for one house.