• National Hydropower Association - http://www.hydro.org
  U.S. trade association. A comprehensive site containing policy information, relicensing information, and generally promoting industry interests.

• Power Matters - Hydroelectric Power - http://www.tva.gov/power/hydro.htm
  Tennessee Valley Authority site with a description and diagram of a generic hydroelectric dam and a pumped storage facility.

• Turning to Hydropower - http://www.fwee.org/
  Site by the Foundation for Water and Energy Education. Promotes and provides extensive information about hydropower in the U.S. Northwest.

• Hydro Research Foundation - http://www.hydrofoundation.org/
  U.S. organization that promotes hydropower by facilitating research and providing educational opportunities. Includes public information.

• Bureau of Reclamation Hydropower Program - http://www.usbr.gov/power/edu/edu.htm
  U.S. government agency. General information including the history of hydropower development, a glossary of terms, and major producers.

• Dam-Reservoir Impact & Information Archive: DRIIA - http://www.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca/dams/
  Information on dams, water diversions, impoundments, and hydroelectric projects, their impacts, and related links.

• International Small-Hydro Atlas - http://www.small-hydro.com
  Technological and regulatory information related to project development, including project sites, organizations, contacts, literature, assessment tools and methodologies,opportunities for research and development, and financing guidelines.

• Microhydro Web Portal - http://www.geocities.com/wim_klunne/hydro/index.html
  Information about run-of-the-river systems up to 300 kilowatts. Includes the microhydro discussion group, microhydro basics, and links.Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Hydropower - http://www.ferc.fed.us/hydro/hydro2.htm
  U.S. regulatory agency for hydropower. Includes project specific license information and a comprehensive overview of federal policies and procedures for hydro licensing.

• National Hydropower Association - http://www.hydro.org
  U.S. trade association. A comprehensive site containing policy information, relicensing information, and generally promoting industry interests.

• Power Matters - Hydroelectric Power - http://www.tva.gov/power/hydro.htm
  Tennessee Valley Authority site with a description and diagram of a generic hydroelectric dam and a pumped storage facility.

• Turning to Hydropower - http://www.fwee.org/
  Site by the Foundation for Water and Energy Education. Promotes and provides extensive information about hydropower in the U.S. Northwest.

• Hydro Research Foundation - http://www.hydrofoundation.org/
  U.S. organization that promotes hydropower by facilitating research and providing educational opportunities. Includes public information.

• Bureau of Reclamation Hydropower Program - http://www.usbr.gov/power/edu/edu.htm
  U.S. government agency. General information including the history of hydropower development, a glossary of terms, and major producers.

• Dam-Reservoir Impact & Information Archive: DRIIA - http://www.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca/dams/
  Information on dams, water diversions, impoundments, and hydroelectric projects, their impacts, and related links.

• International Small-Hydro Atlas - http://www.small-hydro.com
  Technological and regulatory information related to project development, including project sites, organizations, contacts, literature, assessment tools and methodologies,opportunities for research and development, and financing guidelines.

• Microhydro Web Portal - http://www.geocities.com/wim_klunne/hydro/index.html
  Information about run-of-the-river systems up to 300 kilowatts. Includes the microhydro discussion group, microhydro basics, and links.

• HydroElectric.com - http://www.hydroelectric.com
  Online news service dedicated to hydroelectric power.

• Three Gorges Probe - http://www.threegorgesprobe.org
  Information about the scientific, technical, economic, social, and environmental effects of completing the Three Gorges dam in China, as well as the alternatives to the dam.

• Water Wheel Factory - http://www.waterwheelfactory.com
  Reference and historical information, kits, pictures, and plans for water wheels and water turbines.

• Federal Power Act - http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/16/ch12.html
  Statutory framework for the U.S. regulation of the construction, operation, and maintenance of dams, water conduits, reservoirs, power houses, and transmission lines related to the utilization of water resources.

• Hydro Electric Overview - http://www.realgoods.com/renew/shop/list.cfm?dp=1200
  Basic information and FAQs about small systems, provided by the Jade Mountain company.

• Protect Idaho Rivers - http://www.idahorivers.org/hydropower.energy.htm#anchor617022
  Information about dam relicensing and related issues on Idaho rivers including the Salmon, Snake, Bear, Moyie, and Boundary Creek.

• Saint Lawrence FDR Power Project Relicensing - http://www.stl.nypa.gov
  Description of the project, the relicensing process, and a newsletter about the relicensing process.

• Bujagali Hydro Project - http://www.bujagali.com
  Official website for a proposed hydroelectric facility to be located on the Victoria Nile in Uganda. Project information, environmental impact assessment, frequently asked questions and related information.

• Water Power - http://hydroelectricity.hypermart.net/
  Basic information that includes discussions of hydroelectric dams, water wheels, ocean heat power, wave power, and related topics.

• Hydro Information Systems Turbnpro Version 3 Software - http://www.turbnpro.com
  Software for the selection of hydroelectric turbines. Determines preferred turbine size, type, and arrangement from site data. Predicts the performance and energy production for the site.

• California Hydropower Reform Coalition - http://www.calhrc.org
  Conservation and community organizations working to reduce the impacts of FERC licensed hydropower projects on the rivers of California. Contains relicensing resources.

• Pump Turbines Threaten Fisheries of Lakes Russell and Thurmond - http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/wild/turbine.html
  Photographs and descriptions of problems caused by pump turbines.

• Battle Over Dams - http://www.tri-cityherald.com/dams/
  Links to stories in the Tri-City Herald about the controversy surrounding the possible breaching of the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite dams on the Lower Snake River in Washington State.

• Pico Hydro - http://eee.ntu.ac.uk/research/microhydro/picosite/
  Network specializing in very small hydro systems, up to 5 kilowatts. Includes articles, down loadable publications, and links.

• El Dorado Irrigation District FERC Project 184 Relicensing - http://www.project184.com
  Documents associated with the hydro-electric relicensing project, primarily located in the El Dorado National Forest in California. Includes calendar, scientific studies, and a list server for project information.

• Lake Murray, Saluda River, Columbia, South Carolina Dam Re-Licensing - http://parkinhunter.tripod.com/lake_murray_page.html
  Resources for citizen involvement in the re-licensing of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Project 516.

• Rutherford Creek Project - http://www.rutherfordpower.com
  Proposal for a small-scale, run-of-river, hydroelectric development in British Columbia.

• Hydropower - http://web.mit.edu/STS001/www/Team16/mainmenu.html
  MIT class project report which includes history from the water wheel to the current state of technology, case studies of the Hoover Dam and the Tennessee Valley Authority,and a bibliography.

• Industrial Screen Products - http://wedgewire.com/fish.htm
  Product and contact information for manufacturer of wire fish screens that prevent entrainment, injury, or death of targeted aquatic species by physically stopping fish from entering a water intake.  

• Model for Tennessee Rivers Adapted to Montana Project - http://www.sustainableusa.com/news/sanewsview.cfm?NewsID=7706
  River modeling used to support policy decisions on relicensing of hydroelectric dams by assessing impacts on fish populations.

• Hydropower in Hawaii - http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/hydro_hi.html
  Role of hydroelectric generation in Hawaii, including descriptions of specific facilities, facts, and links.

• Laboratory Studies of the Effects of Pressure and Dissolved Gas Super Saturation on Turbine-Passed Fish - http://www.inel.gov/x-web/other/framed.shtml?http://hydropower.inel.gov
  Test design by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to assess how changes in water pressure and dissolved gas concentrations can affect the survival of fish passing downstream through turbines or tailwater environments at hydroelectric dams.

• Small Hydropower Systems - http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/re-kiosk/hydro/index.shtml
  Basic overview of small systems.

• Hydropower Reform Coalition - http://www.amrivers.org/template2.asp?cat=2&page=123&id=945&filter=146
  Federal, state, and local conservation and recreation organizations working to reform policies and achieve improvements to rivers altered by dams with resources for citizen participation in the relicensing process.

• International Centre for Hydropower - http://www.ntnu.no/ich
  ICH promotes the development and utilization of hydroelectric power resources through education and training, project development, energy conservation and courses and seminars in environmental management.

• RETScreen International - Renewable Energy Project Analysis Software - http://retscreen.gc.ca/ang/menu.html
  Free software provided by Canada to evaluate renewable energy projects. Evaluate the energy production, life-cycle costs, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction for central-grid and isolated-grid connected small hydro projects.

• Electricity from Hydropower - http://web.telecom.cz/hydropower
  Describes small-scale hydroelectric technology (portable to 15 kilowatts, stationary from 50 kilowatts to 5 megawatts) utilizing new high efficiency (84%) cross-flow turbines, available from FINESA, Inc., Prague, Czech Republic.

• Emerson Falls Hydro Inc. - http://www.emersonfallshydro.com/idex.html
  Located on the grounds of an old federal fish hatchery in Vermont. Describes the generating station's history, the equipment used, impacts to the environment, and contributions to the local economy. Includes a 360-degree online tou.

Below you'll find links to calculation tools that can help you evaluate small hydropower systems for your home or small business.

For more information on small hydropower—including how small hydropower works; state and community requirements; evaluating your water resource; and buying your turbine—visit our section on evaluating small hydropower.