WorldWide Run of River Power Market, Industry / Sector Analysis Report, Regional Outlook & Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2019 - 2025 (Includes Business Impact of COVID-19)

                                          
Global Run Of River (ROR) Power Market size is predicted to witness a significant growth during the forecast period. Most of the provincial utilities see the ROR systems as the finest option for providing clean power to isolated, small communities thereby replacing inefficient and polluting diesel electric generators. In a comparison of some common power generation technologies by the Ontario Power Authority, the run of river power was found to have the lowest environmental impact.
 

Increasing concern towards reduction of carbon footprints with an aim to achieve environmental protection will positively influence the run of river power market. The ROR facilities are touted as being environment friendly as they do not require dams for flooding large areas of land unlike large hydroelectric dams. These power plants do not emit greenhouse gases unlike fossils fuel plants, thereby reducing the harmful environmental impacts. The Executive Board for the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol (2010) registered 413 ROR power projects, which are anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 127 metric tonnes.
 

Increasing focus on cost effective and reliable energy technology is anticipated to propel the run of river power market. The cost of run of river power plants is comparatively small as compared to large hydropower plants. For instance, in March 2013, among the 8,013 renewables projects operating in the CDM pipeline; 2,899 are hydropower projects with potential combined installation capacity of 138 GW.
 

Based on generation capacity, the run of river power market consists of micro hydro plants having capacity less than 100 KW, mini hydro plants with its capacity between 100 KW-1 MW and small hydropower plants with capacity between 1-50 MW. The small ROR power plants with generation capacity 1-50 MW is predicted to grow at a high growth rate, thereby presenting good market opportunity during the forecast period. As per Natural Resources Canada, the current installed capacity for small ROR power is approximately 3,400 MW and the potential energy that could be produced by small ROR power technologies is estimated to be 15,000 MW.
 

The run of river power market is segmented on the basis of water-head availability into run of river with pondage and without pondage. The run of river with pondage is used during low head availability throughout the year. The pondage is used as storage facility for storing the water and utilizing it during dry seasons for meeting the peak power demands by customers when water head is very low. The run of river power plant without a pondage is used when there is enough availability of water for producing required power throughout the year.
 

North America is anticipated to dominate the run of river power market during the forecast period with large potential sites for development of such projects. The run of river power market projects are likely to perform exceptionally well owing to high dependency on hydropower and increasing adoption of renewable energy technologies. Canada has already tapped its large hydropower generation capacity and has found a niche in replacing polluting diesel generators. Thus, with these ongoing developments, it is evident for run of river power market to gain more popularity in the coming future. Europe is anticipated to offer possible growth opportunities due to increasing environmental concerns. However, restricted availability of economically attractive sites limits the development of run of river power market to a certain extent.

 

Asia Pacific run of river power market is predicted to witness substantial development opportunities with countries like China being the largest hydropower producer in the world. Countries including India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are set to witness large contribution towards renewables through hydropower thereby facilitating run of power projects in Asia Pacific. Brazil, world’s second largest hydropower producer, also provides a high scope for the development of these projects. Mountainous countries comprising Norway, Switzerland, Austria and Nepal, with their massive hydropower resources are investing to top up their power generation portfolios in run of river power projects.
 

Notable players in the run of river power market are Innergex Renewable Energy, Ontario Power Generation, Duke Energy, China Yangtze Power, and Statkraft AS. The leading players have adopted several strategies such as collaborations, mergers & acquisitions for increasing their global industry share.
 

Run of river power market is likely to hold a stronger presence in upcoming years if extensive research and development projects are undertaken to increase the technological and cost efficiency of these projects.