Determining optimum location and capacity for micro hydropower plants in Lorestan province in Iran

In Iran and other developing countries, transmitting electricity power to remote and inaccessible areas is not cost effective and involves a lot of problems due to high transmission costs and insufficient supply. Therefore local water potential would seem a better alternative to supply electricity. This paper is an investigation into all the issues concerning finding suitable sites for micro hydropower plants in remote areas in Lorestan province in Iran. Therefore, the basins, river network, and rural electricity condition in the province were studied. Then, we came up with a list of locations which would lend themselves best to the installation of micro hydropower plants in accordance to the existing parameters. Finally, an estimation of optimum nominal capacity for each micro hydropower was studied and related economic concerns were discussed.