Small Hydro Turnkey EPC in 8 Steps — An Owner’s Guide

This guide follows the eight stages of every turnkey contract we execute. It is written from real deliveries to Madagascar, Pakistan, Laos, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and elsewhere — not from a brochure.

01The 8 steps at a glance

1. 1 · Site data & feasibility. Hydrology (at least one full wet/dry cycle), topography, head and flow measurements, access, and a preliminary energy yield. This decides whether the project is bankable — everything else follows.
2. 2 · Licensing, permits & PPA. Water rights, land, environmental approval and the power purchase agreement. With a local partner this is done in parallel with engineering, not after it — saving months.
3. 3 · Engineering & design. Basic design fixes the turbine type, speed and generator; detailed design covers civil structures, penstock, electrical and control drawings. Design freezes the price — changes after this stage are the main cause of cost overruns.
4. 4 · Manufacturing & Factory Acceptance Test. Runners, guide vanes, generator, governor and switchgear are built in parallel. Your engineers (or a third-party inspector) attend the FAT: dimensions, materials certificates, run tests and a complete set of as-built documents.
5. 5 · Shipping, customs & site logistics. Turbine sets ship break-bulk or in containers; customs clearance and inland haulage to often-remote sites are where schedules die without an experienced local team. Insurance, packing lists and destination agents are arranged up front.
6. 6 · Civil works & installation. Weir, intake, settling basin, headrace, penstock, powerhouse and tailrace are built to the turbine interface drawings; mechanical and electrical erection follows in a planned sequence, supervised by our commissioning engineers.
7. 7 · Commissioning & grid connection. Dry tests, rotation, governor tuning, protection relay testing, then synchronisation and load steps. For isolated grids we tune the governor for island mode from day one — not as an afterthought.
8. 8 · Handover, O&M & training. Performance test, spare parts, documentation and local operator training. Through HIER in Madagascar (and partner crews elsewhere) we stay on site after handover — the difference between a plant that runs and one that runs well.

Generator stator assembly line — multiple units built in parallel at the TCH factory.

02Who does what — owner vs. EPC

• Owner: land and water rights, permits, PPA, local community engagement, site access. EPC: everything technical from hydrology review to commissioning — under one fixed price and one schedule.
• Owner: appoints an independent engineer or supervisor if the lender requires one. EPC: provides design, manufacturing, delivery, erection and commissioning — and warrants the plant for a defined defects period.
• Owner: operates the plant after handover (or contracts O&M). EPC: trains the operators, supplies manuals and spares, and can stay as O&M contractor — our model in Madagascar through HIER.

03Typical timeline

• Months 0–2: site data validation, feasibility sign-off, contract. Months 3–6: licensing + detailed design + manufacturing start.
• Months 6–9: FAT, shipment, customs and civil works in parallel. Months 9–12: mechanical and electrical erection.
• Months 12–14: commissioning, grid connection, performance test and handover. Faster tracks are possible when the civil works are pre-funded or already built.

Completed turbine-generator units crated and awaiting shipment.