When at the end of the 19 th century the Edison Company had its board of directors in Milan (Italy), a splendid marble panel showed a collection of fountains, each one representing a hydroelectric plant. If came out from the orifice the power plant was working and gold was flowing into the bank account of the Edison Company. The electric power came from the potential of dammed driving a water turbine and a generator”. In this traditional hydraulic power machines, an electromechanical control system, at an accurately tuned constant speed, feeds the electric power into the network. The very expensive and complicated system should deliver the energy within the tolerances set by the Edison Company. Now, with electronic, the control system is not more a problem, especially for powers up to 100 kW, where low-cost mass-produced integrated circuits deliver the energy within the prescribed tolerances. These devices cost less than 10 USD. For this reason it is easier to produce many micro or pico power “plants” than few but very expensive, dammed, high-power large plants. Many and well distributed micro/pico plants that can work without maintenance for several years (typically 20 years) using the energy wasted in rivers. This is possible due to mass production of micro/pico plants with extremely reduced installation costs. Electricity can be delivered as close as a km away to the location where it is being used with little overload to the distribution network. Hydro produces a more continuous supply of electrical energy in comparison to other small-scale renewable technologies (wind or sun). The power peak is during the wintertime when large quantities of electricity are required. Pico-hydro can function as a “run-of-river” or “free-flow” system, meaning that the water, passing through the generator, is directed back into the stream with relatively little impact on the surrounding ecology. The manufacturing of a micro hydro-power system can cost as little as € 1, 000, depending on the site electricity requirements and location. Maintenance fees are relatively small in comparison to other technologies. If your site produces a large amount of excess energy, some power companies will buy back your electricity overflow. You also have the ability to supplement your level of micro power with intake from the power grid. The environmental impact of small-scale hydro is minimal; however the low-level environmental effects must be taken into consideration before construction begins. Stream will be diverted away from a portion of the stream, and proper caution must be exercised to ensure there will be no damaging impact on the local ecology or civil infrastructure. A large number of small, pico hydroelectric plants can recover the amount of energy wasted in rivers. A possible geometry of a run-the-river power park and the economic convenience of the solution is demonstrated in this paper.
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