Brussels, 05 February 2014

New guidebook on how to establish a small hydropower cooperative

Within the EU co-funded project RESTOR Hydro, European hydropower representatives published a first-ever guidebook on how to establish a small hydropower (SHP) cooperative. This publication offers a step by step guide outlining useful tools on how to refurbish the estimated 350,000 old water mills, weirs and inoperative SHP stations located in the EU Member States.

By valorising the SHP potential in Europe, the project’s aim is to bring hydropower closer to the people by showing them the technology, the benefits it can bring to the regions and how it can contribute reaching the EU’s 2020 energy targets.

Dirk Hendricks, Secretary General of the European Small Hydropower Association (ESHA) states that “one of the main barriers the project addresses is the financing aspects: SHP sites are often too small to be ‘bankable’. The solution proposed by this publication is to gather several SHP sites within one region and to fund the costs to exploit them through a local cooperative. Local citizens will be offered a share of the project with co-ownership.” This publication is aimed at anyone with basic entrepreneurial skills who are seeking microhydropower potential in a region and are willing to tap into this potential through a community driven model.
The guidebook is available at http://www.restor-hydro.eu/

It will be available in French, Italian, Lithuanian, Swedish, Polish, Greek and Slovenian in the following months.


For further information, please contact
Martina Steinkusz, Project and Communication Manager, ESHA
T.: +32 2 400 10 67 / E.: Αυτή η διεύθυνση ηλεκτρονικού ταχυδρομείου προστατεύεται από κακόβουλη χρήση. Χρειάζεται να ενεργοποιήσετε την Javascript για να τη δείτε.

Notes to editors

The European Small Hydropower Association (ESHA) is the coordinator of the RESTOR Hydro project which runs from June 2011 until May 2015.  ESHA represents the interest of the hydropower sector by promoting the benefits and opportunities of hydropower at EU level. The association campaigns for improved market conditions for the hydropower sector, removal of any barriers to hydropower development and an increase in hydro-electricity production in Europe.

RESTOR Hydro is a European project aiming at increasing renewable energy production from small and micro hydropower, by identifying and restoring suitable historical sites, mills and hydropower stations that are currently inoperative.
The RESTOR Hydro project identifies the most relevant sites suitable for refurbishment and stimulates investment through the development of a market-driven model for regional cooperatives. Identification and refurbishment follow specific methodological guidelines, taking into account environmental, economic and social aspects.
RESTOR Hydro aims at assessing the state of small hydropower and refurbishment potential in the whole EU-27 region. Restoration programmes will be implemented in eight selected target countries: BELGIUM, FRANCE, GREECE, ITALY, LITHUANIA, POLAND, SLOVENIA, SWEDEN.