World Hydropower Congress

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

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Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

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Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Pumped storage hydropower (PSH)

A closed-loop or open-loop hydro plant that pumps water uphill when power is cheap or surplus and generates when demand peaks, making it the largest form of long-duration energy storage on most grids.

2

Run-of-river hydro

A scheme that uses the natural flow of a river with little or no storage reservoir, so output follows river discharge rather than being shifted to peak demand hours.

3

Reservoir (storage) hydro

A plant with a dam and impoundment that can hold water and dispatch generation when the grid needs it, providing both energy and flexibility.

4

Head

The vertical or effective height difference between the water intake and the turbines; higher head generally means less water is needed per megawatt hour generated.

5

Francis turbine

A mixed-flow reaction turbine used across a wide range of heads and flows, and the most common type in medium and large hydro stations.

6

Pelton turbine

An impulse turbine driven by high-velocity jets striking buckets, typically specified for high-head schemes in mountainous terrain.

7

Kaplan and bulb turbines

Propeller-type reaction turbines with adjustable blades for low-head, high-flow sites such as rivers and tidal or small barrage schemes.

8

Capacity factor

Actual generation over a period divided by the output the plant would have produced running flat out; reservoir plants typically run higher than run-of-river plants.

9

Hydropower Sustainability Standard

The assessment framework managed by the International Hydropower Association that scores projects and operating assets against environmental, social, governance and technical criteria.

10

Net reservoir emissions

The greenhouse gas balance of a reservoir after subtracting the carbon that the pre-flood landscape would have absorbed or released; a recurring topic for tropical storage projects.

11

Environmental flows

The volume, timing and quality of water deliberately left in or released to a river to sustain downstream ecosystems and communities.

12

Fish passage

Structures and operating rules - fish ladders, lifts, bypass channels or screen systems - that let migratory species move past a dam or intake.

13

Sedimentation

The build-up of silt and sand in a reservoir that reduces usable storage; managed through catchment measures, flushing, sluicing or dredging.

14

Penstock

The pressurised pipe or tunnel that carries water from the intake to the turbine spiral case.

15

Tailrace

The channel that returns water from the turbine outlet back to the river downstream of the powerhouse.

16

Grid flexibility and ancillary services

Fast-ramping capacity, spinning reserve, voltage support and inertia that stabilise a grid; hydro and PSH are increasingly valued for these services as variable renewables grow.

17

Refurbishment and lifetime extension

Replacing or upgrading turbines, generators, governors and control systems at an existing plant to recover capacity and extend operating life, often cheaper per MW than new build.

18

Levelised cost of electricity (LCOE)

Lifetime cost divided by lifetime output, used to compare hydro with wind, solar, storage and thermal generation on a like-for-like basis.