China’s Small Hydropower in Rural

Energy Development

Li Zhiwu

National Research Institute for Rural Electrification, China

Hangzhou regional (Asia & Pacific) Center for Small Hydropower

2012.8.1

As one of the multi-lateral technical cooperation

projects, HRC was set up in 1981, under the sponsorship of

Chinese government and UNDP, HRC is a organization

engaged in the SHP research, training, information and

consultation in the Asia-pacific region as well as

worldwide. Domestically, HRC is called National Research

Institute for Rural Electrification.

’84 SHP Hydrology Training Workshop

2008 TCDC Training Workshop on SHP

Contents

SHP Development in China

Definition of Small Hydropower

2

China's SHP Technical Features 3

Incentive Policies 4

1

Barriers & Outlook 5

Ⅰ. Definition of Small Hydropower

The definition of small hydropower differs from country to

country, more consensus is that small hydropower is divided into

three categories:

micro ( < 100kW )

mini ( 101 ~ 1000 kW )

small ( 1001 ~ 10000 kW).

Country/International Organization

Classification(kW)

(Micro) (Mini) (Small)

International Conferences on small

hydropower <100 101-500 501-10000

Thailand <200 201-6000 6001-15000

China <100 101-500 501- 50000

Turkey <100 101-1000 1001-5000

U.S. <500 501-2000 <15000

India <100 <2000 <15000

Malaysia <25 25-500 <5000

Nepal <50 <500 <5000

Panama <100 101-1000 1001-10000

France <500 501-2000 2001-8000

Ⅰ. Definition of Small Hydropower

In China, small hydropower refers to hydropower stations with the

installed capacity of 50MW and below, as well as small hydropower

supplied local power grids.

It is associated with the development of national economy in

harmony, especially with the development of rural economics and rural

electricity demand.

1950s: <500kW

1960s: <3000kW

Late1960s: <12000kW

1980s: <25000kW

1990s: <50000kW

Ⅱ. SHP Development in China

By the end of 2011:

★ No. of SHP stations in operation 45,145

★ Total installed capacity 62,030 MW

★ Annual generation 174,745 GWh

★ SHP supplying area covered:

1/2 of nation’s territory

300+m rural population

1/3 of counties

★ Percentage of rural household accessible to electricity 99.6%

Position of SHP in hydro- and electric power sector:

★ % of SHP capacity in hydropower sector 30%

( 5-6% for the whole world;

10% for European countries;

1-3% for most developing countries)

★ % of SHP energy in electric power sector 6%

( 1% for the whole world;

<1% for most developing countries)

★ SHP-based local grids cover 800 counties

★ 540,000 km of 10kV,35kV and 110kV transmission lines in these counties

★ total SHP assets exceeds USD 32 billion

★ personnel engaged in the SHP sector ---- 658,000 of whom, 150,000 are technical staff

★ Three Channels of energy supply for rural

electrification:

□ Extension of the state grids

□ Diesel energy or thermal power

□ Local decentralized renewable energy

SHP, Solar, Wind, biomass

In China, elec. demand in hilly rural area mainly relied on SHP

653 primary R.E. counties set up (1985-2000)

409 HP-based R.E. counties set up (2001-2005)

432 HP-based R.E. counties set up (2006-2010)

Various channels for raising funds

Funding channel Capital Amount

(billion Yuan) Proportion

of the total

investment (%)

(1) State investment

(2) Bank loan

(3) Self-raised funds

(local government)

(4)”Electricity support electricity”

program

(5) power construction

(6) Foreign funds and others

Total

0.9

6.5

4.2

0.5

0.4

2.0

14.5

5.9

45.0

29.1

3.3

2.7

14.0

100

III. China's Small Hydropower Technical Features

SHP S

tandard System

SHP S

upplied Local Grids

SHP P

lanning System

Serialized S

HP Equipment

A V

ariety of Types

1 2 3 4 5 6

Ecological P

rotection

Design head: from less 2 meters up to 1000 meters;

Dam type: including earth, stone masonry dam, concrete dam,

rock fill dam, concrete face rock fill dam, rock core wall dam, rubber

dam and so on.

Water intake and water diversion system: including open

channel, aqueduct, all kinds of pressure, non-pressure piping, tunnel

etc.

Powerhouses: various types, including ground, underground,

circular, elliptic and so on.

Overall layout: including the diversion type, the dam type, river

bed type etc..

Power station elevation: some stations have elevation of 4700

m built in Tibet.

1

A V

arie

ty o

f Typ

es

China has almost all types of small hydropower stations listed

in a textbook.

1

A V

arie

ty o

f Typ

es

High head

Low head (3.5m) SHP Station

4700m elevation in Tibet.

1

A V

arie

ty o

f Typ

es

SHP Station

Containerized

hydropower station

Completely done

in manufacturer ,

trucked to the site

Less Time and

Cost on site

1

A V

arie

ty o

f Typ

es

Stone Masonry Arch Dam

Concrete Arch Dam

Dam type

1

A V

arie

ty o

f Typ

es

Stone Masonry Arch Dam

Concrete Arch Dam

Concrete surface rock fill dam

Dam type

1

A V

arie

ty o

f Typ

es

Stone Masonry Arch Dam

Concrete Arch Dam

Dam type

Rubber Dam

Automatic

Shutter Dam

China has more than 100 small hydropower equipment

manufacturers. They adopt unified design and drawings, as

well as standardized spare parts.

Small hydropower equipment standardization and

serialization plays an important role in promoting high-speed

and large-scale development of small hydropower in China.

2

Seria

lized

SH

P E

qu

ipm

en

t

2

Se

rializ

ed

SH

P E

qu

ipm

en

t

Small hydro turbines have a total of 26 models in series, 83 kinds

of products, applicable in the head range of 2 ~ 1000 meters.

Main turbine types are axial flow, propeller, shaft axial flow, bulb,

Francis, Pelton, Turgo, cross flow and micro integrated units.

Turbine

2

Se

rializ

ed

SH

P E

qu

ipm

en

t

Turbine

Francis turbine:

The most popular type,

widely applied;

Head of 20-700m, speed of

500-1500rpm and installed

capacity up to 1000MW;

Simpler structure, reliable

operation and high efficiency

(up to 94%);

Smaller unit dimensions and

lower cost, (compared).

2

Se

rializ

ed

SH

P E

qu

ipm

en

t

Turbine

Axial-flow turbine:

Propeller (fixed blades) and

Kaplan (double regulation). Water

head of 2-50m for Propeller, Water

head of 2-80m for Kaplan;

Suitable for lower head and

larger flow;

Poor cavitations and low

mechanical strength, if compared

with Francis turbine;

Efficiency is over 94%;

Max. unit capacity in China:

200MW.

2

Se

rializ

ed

SH

P E

qu

ipm

en

t

Tubular turbine:

Water head of 2-35m, for extra low head and larger flow rate;

Four types: Bulb type, shaft-extension, pit-Tubular, fully

Tubular type;

Neither spiral case nor draft tube;

Fixed blades and adjustable blades;

Fluent water flow, high efficiency, low civil works cost;

Max. unit capacity of Bulb turbine in China: 40MW.

Turbine

2

Se

rializ

ed

SH

P E

qu

ipm

en

t

Impulse turbine:

For high head (300-1700m) and small flow rate;

Pelton, Turgo and cross-flow;

Horizontal or vertical arrangement;

Runner jets more than 6 (single jet, multi jets-2, 3, 4,6, 8);

The highest head of Pelton unit in China:Tianhu hydropower

station with a head of 1074m;

Turbine

Hydro generators have 2 standard series, 16 kinds of

models, and more than 280 products.

In addition, governors, excitation equipment and others of

equipment for small hydropower station all have standard series.

2

Se

rializ

ed

SH

P E

qu

ipm

en

t

switchgear Generator

(1) Rural Electrification Planning

3

SH

P P

lan

nin

g S

yste

m

Beginning in 1982, China carried out small hydropower-

based rural electrification pilot counties, as of in 2000 , it has

covered the construction of 653 electrification counties.

Based on constant experience and practice, a set of suitable

rural electrification planning method has been established.

Many valuable experiences have been summarized into

national or industrial standards, such as “small hydropower

supply area rural electrification planning regulations”, “rural

hydropower supply area power development planning

guidelines”, etc.

SHP cascade development planning

3

SH

P P

lan

nin

g S

yste

m

(2) SHP River Basin Development Planning

Cascade exploitation aims at making full use of water head

of a river; enabling the construction of a low dam at the upper

reaches of a river which regulates the water for all the

downstream hydro stations; exploitation can be developed in

several phase.

St.1

St. 3

St.2

St.4

St.5

St.6

Zhejiang Panxi SHP cascades

3

SH

P P

lan

nin

g S

yste

m

SHP cross river basin development planning

Cross-basin water diversion is a kind of

effective pattern of small hydropower

development technology. In a suitable terrain

and geological conditions, water diversion

from neighboring basin can increase the

amount of power generation.

But cross-basin water diversion may

cause the change of ecological environment,

which must be considered, so it is not

suggested to be spread in a blind way.

Different from other developing countries, China

attached great importance to building up power

supply area for SHP.

The county-level grids and trans-county grids

were formed in some places, with capacity generally

ranging from about 30 to 80MW. Over 1500 counties

have constructed small hydropower and built up

different scales of local grids.

4

SH

P S

up

plie

d L

oc

al G

rids

A relatively complete standard system of SHP has been formed. So far, 35 standards have been issued and about 20 standards are being compiled.

To promote the development of SHP in the world, our government is planning to translate some of them into English.

5

SH

P S

tan

dard

Syste

m

SHP development on the whole has more benefit

than fraud, but we can not ignore its impact on river

ecological system, especially the diversion type SHPs,

if poorly planned, would cause environmental problems

such as river flow dehydration.

In recent years, China has begun research on the

ecological flow in the river, explored the establishment

of green hydropower mechanism to hold up the

concept of “protection in the development,

development in the protection”

6

Eco

log

ical P

rote

ctio

n

Dehydrated River Section

SHP replacing firewood

33

0.19yuan/kW·h （0.45）

< 50MW

Finance input by gov.

Dev. of SHP

Cheap electricity

Substituting fuel

Conservation of

forest & vegetation

Central & local

Firewood, coal

Grain for Green program

Nature reserve

Water and soil loss

controlling area

SHP Replacing Firewood

Pilot project Expanded pilot

project

Promotion

project (plan)

Time 2003-2004 2006-2008 2009-2015

Projects NO. 26 81 1022

Province 5 21 24

Installed capacity 58MW 150MW 1706MW

Benefit population 200,000 636,000 5777,000

Protected forest 1 040km2 1353km2 15933km2

Total investment 0.28 b 1.03b 14.13b

central gov. 0.129b 0.3b 5.7b

34

General Status

SHP Replacing Firewood

35

Benefits — Health effects

Clean kitchen

after

Indoor pollution

before

SHP Replacing Firewood

Road after Road before

SHP Replacing Firewood

1.Policies on dev.

◆ Focusing on local capability (including enterprises or individuals) with-

assistance from central government.

◆ Core of SHP policies: “3-selfs”, stuck

those who invested in SHP stations would get the benefits from the

station.

2.Policies on investment

◆ Furthering the policy of “elec. Support elec.”

All the profit from SHP stations could be exempted from tax and used

for investment in SHP. Significant role in 20 years.

Ⅳ. Incentive Polices

3.Policies on tax

◆ Sales tax only 5% of the profit from a SHP station before

1994;

◆ Value-added tax 6% since 1994 (17% for large hydro)

4.Policies on mobilization

◆ Every farmer had to contribute 8-10 working days/year in

dev. SHP in some counties. The work contributed could

be converted into inv. in kind in the form of shares.

5. Policies on loan

◆ Low-interest loans from central and local gov.(10 years)

◆ Special finance, such as for “replacing firewood by elec.”

program.

6. Other preferential policies

◆ Reasonable allocation of water res. budget for SHP

projects that combine flood control, irrigation and water

conservation.

◆ Compensation for the headwater reservoir in cascade

dev.

Ⅴ. Barriers & Outlook

5.1 Internal flaws

☆ small scale, not competitive with large plants

◆ capital investment:

SHP vs. large one

8,000~10,000 vs. 5,000~7,000 Yuan/kW

◆ high seasonal variation

◆ Low firm power

◆ Low utilization hr: 2817 hrs (in 2011)

5.2 External problems

☆ Difficulty of integration to the grid;

☆ Unfair treatment of off-take electricity quantity;

☆ Unreasonable selling price to the grid;

ave. selling price of SHP: 0.226-0.45 Yuan/kWh

20% lower than other power sources

☆ Constraints of public welfare character.

5.3 Measures for overcoming the barriers

□ For internal factors, the flaws have to be improved by

SHP sector itself, including planning , design, construction,

O&M.

□ For external factors, attention has to be paid by decision-

making levels of the gov.

□ Environmental policies be coordinated during stipulation of

SHP policies to ensure the merging of SHP policy with

relevant sectors

□ Both planning and market are indispensible measures for

allocation of resources.

“Gov.-enabled and market-based approach” has to be

studied and worked out.

□ Strengthening compulsory administrative policies:

quota system and other relevant regulations

□ Environment factors be taken into consideration in

price determination mechanism, protection of market

price for SHP

□ Tax policy

□ Policy guidance for financing SHP

Multi-polarization, multiple-sources and multi-direction of

invest. in raising capital for SHP thro. opening up of the

market. (invest. from both society, foreign funds and private

enterprises)

5.4 Outlook for SHP Development in China

◎ Targets by 2020:

○Total rural hydropower capacity: 75,000MW;

100% people electrified in rural hydropower supplied

area.

○ 10 million farmers’ household use electricity from

SHP to replace firewood, consumption of electricity per

household per year no less than 1500 kWh.

○ Further improvement of technical standard system for

rural hydropower;

Primarily completion of renovation plan for rural

hydropower stations;

Non-attended (with a few guards stations) should exceed

90% of the whole.

Small hydropower is the rural renewable energy with the

most mature technology, the longest development history,

and the most rewarding benefits.

China’s SHP technology has its unique characteristics.

We would like to share our experience with other East

Asian countries, to promote the development of SHP.

Conclusion

Thank You！

Li Zhiwu

zwli@hrcshp.org