Do all hydropower developments include dams and reservoirs?
Not all hydropower developments include dams or reservoirs. Run-of-river projects produce electricity without storing water in reservoirs and without using dams to increase the head (the height from which the water falls). They produce power by partially diverting fast-flowing rivers through a turbine set in the river or off to the side. Of 475 hydroelectric power generating stations in Canada, more than 125 are run-of-river.
