Gansu tightens hydropower regulations on environmental concerns

West China's Gansu Province is regulating small-scale hydropower projects to protect fresh water resources.

A new Gansu regulation states that all planned hydropower plants with installed capacity ranging from five to 250 megawatts  must receive approval from the Gansu arm of the National Development and Reform Commission  before breaking ground.

Additionally, projects with les than five MW of installed capacity need to obtain approval from municipal NDRC offices, the policy said, stressing that hydropower operating licenses were not transferrable.

The latest regulations are aimed at protecting scarce water resources and farmers from potentially harmful hydropower project development, the Gansu provincial government said.

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