Micro Hydropower

The power of water

Whilst Afghanistan's mountainous landscape presents a major challenge to the development of an electrical grid, it is at the same time the source of another type of abundant energy that can be converted into electricity – running water.

Within its five water zones, the rivers in Afghanistan provide over 23,000 MW of energy with the potential for more than 600 MW of electricity from micro hydropower (MHP) plants. Due to well established irrigation systems and the nature of the terrain, many villages offer excellent sites to set up MHP systems.

Micro Hydro Power

Interactive Application

In this application, you will learn about flow and height measurement methods during planning phase as well as about all sections and components of a micro hydropower plant. Can you repair and maintain our broken micro hydropower plant?

Micro Hydropower – electricity around the clock

MHP systems can harness energy on site even in the remotest of areas and thus provide electricity to villages and households that otherwise cannot be easily connected to a larger grid. MHP has a great advantage over other energy sources as, most of the time, it can provide reliable energy throughout the year at day and night. However, MHP systems require regular maintenance. In fact, a great number of existing MHP plants in Afghanistan are not operational due to poor planning or the lack of maintenance. Most of the installed MHP units have nominal capacities below 50 kW and are mainly being used to provide power to households or small business appliances.

Planning, building and maintaining MHP systems can be done locally ensuring good jobs for the necessary and immediate repairs of such systems. Thus, having a proper MHP sector with trained experts can not only ensure reliable power production, but also boost the local economy.