China's small hydropower and its dispatching management Chuntian Cheng a,n , Benxi Liu a , Kwok-Wing Chau b , Gang Li a , Shengli Liao a a Institute of Hydropower and Hydroinformatics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China b Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China article info Article history: Received 1 March 2014 Received in revised form 31 August 2014 Accepted 26 September 2014 Keywords: Small hydropower Large-scale Dispatching management Yunnan abstract With a huge energy demand, the small hydropower (SHP) has undertaken a rapid development in the past six decades in China. Especially in the recent three decades, the increasing environmental pressure has promoted its development rate and the significance of its management and operation. The number of SHP stations in China has exceeded 45,000 with a total installed capacity of more than 68 GW, ranked the first in the world. SHP provides approximately 5% of China's gross electricity generation and is the major backbone for rural electrification. However, how to manage and operate SHP effectively is still a difficult problem in China. In this paper, the current status of SHP in China is investigated. A special emphasis is given to their dispatching management. The southwestern province of Yunnan, ranked second in exploitable potential and first in established capacity of SHP in China, is taken as a typical example for the management and operation of SHP. The difficulties and challenges of management and operation of SHP in Yunnan province are depicted. A case system for the SHP management in Yunnan is introduced in details. It is believed that the system should be beneficial for regions with rich SHP resources in China and elsewhere as well. & 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 44 2. History and status quo of SHP development in China ........................................................................ 45 2.1. Historical development of SHP .................................................................................... 45 2.1.1. Period 1: SHP was mainly used for agricultural irrigation and lighting (1950–1979) .................................. 45 2.1.2. Period 2: SHP was mainly developed for economy development (1980–1999) ....................................... 45 2.1.3. Period 3: SHP as an environment-friendly-energy for local economic development ................................... 45 2.2. SHP potential and distribution in China ............................................................................. 45 2.3. Recent perspectives of SHP in China ............................................................................... 45 2.4. SHP as a renewable energy in China ............................................................................... 47 2.5. Benefits of SHP ................................................................................................ 47 2.5.1. Social and economic benefits .............................................................................. 47 2.5.2. Environmental benefits ................................................................................... 48 2.6. Prospects for development of SHP in China .......................................................................... 48 3. Obstacles in dispatching management .................................................................................... 48 4. Dispatching management of SHP in Yunnan ............................................................................... 50 4.1. Brief introduction of SHP in Yunnan................................................................................ 50 4.2. Challenges of SHP in Yunnan ..................................................................................... 50 4.3. SHP management system of Yunnan ............................................................................... 52 4.3.1. System architecture ...................................................................................... 52 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.09.044 1364-0321/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: ctcheng@dlut.edu.cn (C. Cheng), liubxi@126.com (B. Liu), cekwchau@polyu.edu.hk (K.-W. Chau), glee@dlut.edu.cn (G. Li), shengliliao@dlut.edu.cn (S. Liao). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 42 (2015) 43–55