The director of the Hangzhou Regional Council for Small Hydro Power was keen to talk about small hydro power development in China during a recent interview. Liu Yong said that the Chinese government has paid great attention to the development of small hydro power and has stipulated a series of effective policies and regulations. These include: • Unified planning and management at different levels.
• Collecting construction funds locally. The profit gained from small hydro power development does not go to local revenue but is used to redevelop small hydro. This policy has been carried out for 20 years and has played a key role in developing small hydro.
Yong also said that there are over 100 hydro power equipment manufacturers in China and a complete system standardisation has been formed for the production of small and medium turbines and generators.