Microhydro-electric systems are referred to units or plants, which are installed with the power generation capability of less than or equal to 100 kW. The installation of plant mainly include the units that are deployed on streams, water pipeline systems, and irrigation canals. Microhydro-electric systems find considerable applications to cater the needs of the small business and domestic and agricultural requirements. These installations are generally privately owned and the power generated is either utilized on-site or sold to the utility distribution company.

Increasing emphasis for the exploitation of green energy sources is anticipated to leverage the demand for utilization of the available water sources

High global dependency on the fossil fuels is expected to decline due to limited availability of resources and the associated impact of fossil fuels on environment over the forecast period. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis report, around 60 countries utilize the available water resources to meet more than 50% of the overall electrical energy requirements. Micro-hydro power generation has gained considerable momentum, owing to its increased social as well as financial benefits over the large hydro power stations. Short gestation period, high return on investment (ROI), low capital investments, easy commissioning, and construction are some of the factors augmenting the market growth. Moreover, factors such as the impact on local habitat, effect on rehabilitation, deforestation, and other associated issues owing to submergence of the large areas can be eliminated with the introduction of microhydro-electric systems.

Microhydro-Electric Systems Market Taxonomy:

On the basis of components, the global microhydro-electric systems market is segmented into:

Intake (screen, diversion, impoundment)

Penstock (Pipeline)

Turbine

Dump load

Battery bank

Main DC disconnect

Inverter

AC breaker panel

Others (Metering & controls)

On the basis of capacity, the global microhydro-electric systems market is segmented into:

Less than 30 kw

20 kw to 50 kw

50kw to 100 kw

Administrative bottlenecks and low adoption rates are expected to hamper the industrial growth over the forecast period

Requirement to fulfil the long and complicated procedural hurdles to obtain the authorization, permits, and approvals in almost every nations is expected to be the major factor hindering the market growth. Furthermore, adoption of the methodology for power generation is still in its nascent stage with most of the potential still left untapped. For instance, over 95% of around 79,000 dams in the U.S., are not utilized for the generation of electricity.

Europe dominated the global microhydro-electric systems market is expected to present substantial growth prospects over the forecast period

Development of efficient regulatory framework and tariff rates to support green infrastructural development is expected to fuel the market growth in Europe. For instance, European Legislation has defined the standards and normalization rules accounting for the electricity generation through hydropower and wind power. Furthermore, other regulatory bodies has also defined requirements and standards include UK legislation, Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), and Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). Increasing number of green government initiatives to support the growing requirement of electricity in emerging countries of Asia Pacific such as China, is expected to garner highest growth rate over the forecast period.

Key Players in the Global Microhydro-Electric Systems Market

Regional expansion and increasing awareness regarding the associated benefits of the system, is expected to help the key industry players to strengthen their industry position in the microhydro-electric systems market. Some of the key players operating in the global microhydro-electric systems market include Addnew Technologies Limited, Alps Power Technologies (P) Limited, Brownell Micro Hydro, Canyon Industries, Inc., Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre Ltd., K.C. Larson, Inc., PowerSpout, and Rainbow Power Company Ltd.