Micro Hydro is a term used for hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 kW of power. They are often used in water rich areas as a Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS). There are many of these installations around the world, including several delivering around 50 kW in the Solomon Islands, supplying energy for small communities.

Micro hydro is frequently accomplished with a pelton wheel for high head, low flow water supply. The installation is often just a small dammed pool, at the top of a waterfall, with several hundred feet of pipe leading to a small generator housing.

In low-head installations, maintenance and mechanism costs often become important. A low-head system moves larger amounts of water, and is more likely to encounter surface debris. For this reason a Banki turbine, a pressurized self-cleaning crossflow waterwheel, is often preferred for low-head microhydropower systems. Though less efficient, its simpler structure is less expensive than other low-head turbines of the same capacity. Since the water flows in, then out of it, it cleans itself and is less prone to jam with debris.

Micro hydro systems complement photovoltaic solar energy systems because in many areas, water flow, and thus available hydro power, is highest in the winter when solar energy is at a minimum.