Development of SHP (small hydro power) around the world has increased substantially in the last 10 to 15 years because of the limited and fast depleting fossil fuel sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. The potential for further development of SHP is even stronger. Worldwide, various technologies and practices have been tried with varied success to tap SHP. It is acknowledged, however, that there are not many success stories about SHP throughout the world in terms of economy and efficiency. The performance of SHP projects/plants depends upon the civil works and their costs, standardization of equipment, selection of size and number of units, load factor planning, plant operations, and project management. The technique of benchmarking can be used to assess and improve the performance of SHP projects/ plants. This paper describes the benchmarking technique, and presents its framework and potential for the small hydro industry. (15 references)
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