Abstract

There has been a substantial increase in recent years in the number of small hydropower plants (SHP) as an alternative renewable energy source. SHPs are plants which have a capacity of 0.5 to 25 MW and are subject to the environmental impact assessment procedures different from those of other plants in Turkey. There are 903 small hydropower plants in the country including those with a license application under evaluation, those in the process of construction or production. The number of the plants is ever increasing with the newly developed projects. While offering ecological advantages from a global perspective, SHPs may cause some environmental impacts at the local and regional level. In the present study, 40 SHPs (4 in the process of production, 22 under construction, 14 with an application under evaluation) were investigated and evaluated on site and some recommendations made.

Key words: Small hydropower plants, environmental impacts, habitat deterioration, environmental flow, fish and wildlife passages, Turkey.