Small Hydropower

Small hydroelectric power plants in Ukraine are power plants with a capacity of up to 10 MW. According to the modern international classification under the UN standard, small hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) are plants with a capacity of 1 to 30 MW. Mini HPPs range from 100 to 1000 kW, and micro HPPs generate no more than 100 kW.

At the beginning of the 1950s, the electrification of the country’s agricultural areas was done with a combination of centralized and local energy supply. Rural electrification directed the construction of local energy systems, which included small hydroelectric power plants and diesel power plants.

In the 1960s, about 1,000 small HPPs with a total capacity of about 300 MW were operating in Ukraine. In the 1970s and 1980s, with the development of large thermal, nuclear and hydropower plants, the energy supply became more centralized and interest in small hydropower plants disappeared. As a result, the process of conservation and spontaneous, uncontrolled dismantling and decline of small hydropower began.

Ukraine has the potential for the deployment of small hydropower, particularly in its mountainous regions. According to Ukrainian experts, in the Carpathian region alone it is possible to build small hydropower plants totaling up to about 400 MW.

However, it is important to take river biodiversity and hydrological constraints into account. Rivers are amongst the most endangered ecosystems, and it is important that the fast deployment of renewable energy does not come at the expense of Ukraine’s nature. Therefore, it is important that there are clear and strict permitting rules, and that the building of hydropower plants is subject to environmental impact assessments.

At the beginning of 2022, there were 177 small HPPs in Ukraine with an installed capacity of 120 MW excluding one small HPP (0.9 MW) located in the territories temporarily occupied by russia before February 24, 2022. In 2021, the share of small HPPs in electricity production was 0.1%.

Due to the liberation of Ukrainian territories in November, 2022, all small HPPs occupied by the russian federation after February 24, 2022, returned under the control of Ukraine. By the end of 2022, the total installed capacity of small HPPs in Ukraine reached 153 MW.