Identification of the catchment areas and potential survey of power generation from small hydropower plants in Kurdistan province

Hydropower power generation is one of the most important sources of renewable energies. Small hydropower plants are becoming the most popular option of hydropower plants, which can be applied in small and remote places, and are able to produce cheap, clean and reliable electricity. In Iran and most developing countries, electricity transmission to remote regions for reasons such as high transmission costs and lack of proper supply of electricity, is faced with serious problems. Therefore, small hydropower plants can be considered as a suitable option to supply the power needed especially in rural and remote areas. This study aimed to study the feasibility and potential for generating electricity from small hydropower plants in the province of Kurdistan. Therefore, the catchment areas have been investigated and based on the average of tempreture, rain fall, and the catchment areas the amount of discharge is estimed. Then an appropriate locations to install hydropower plants are determined with respect to the intended technical, economic and environmental restrictions. Finally, the capacity of hydropowers is calculated. The results indicate the possibility to construct 3455 small hydropower plants in the province of Kurdistan, and finally, in the case of construction of small hydropower plants, in all the proposed areas it will be possible to produce 492 MW of electricity from hydropower in Kurdistan.