Run of River hydro power In Canada  

TreeHugger has a post on the quantity of "run of river" hydro power available in British Columbia. Like the Mississippi, its a significant amount - 1000 Megawatts of Run-of-River Hydro on Tap for British Columbia.

When most people think of hydro-electric power they probably think of large dam projects such as China’s Three Gorges Dam, India’s dams on the Narmada River , or closer to home (at least to my home) the Hoover Dam. Perhaps needless to say, big hydro-electric projects like this can generate a great deal of power, but there are significant environmental trade offs.

A less environmentally intrusive way to develop hydro power is known as run-of-river hydro—skip down if you’re unfamiliar with how this works—and more of this is just what’s being planned for British Columbia. Plutonic Power and GE Financial Services have signed a memorandum of understanding that will have the two developing 1000 MW of run-of-rive hydro-electric capacity.

At a total cost of approximately USD 4-billion, the Upper Toba Valley Project will consist of of three sites totaling 120 MW, while the Bute Inlet Project will consist of 18 sites for 900 MW of capacity.

GE will contribute $70 million for a 50% stake in the Upper Toba Valley Project; $650 million for a 60% interest in the Bute Inlet Project.

Both projects are being submitted for BC Hydro’s Clean Power Call, which is part of British Columbia’s greater goal of having at least 90% of the province’s electricity come from clean or renewable sources by 2016.