Community micro-hydropower in the Dominican RepublicCEFR A1
29 Mar 2026
Adapted from Zahiris Priscila Francisco Martínez, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Fran Pencliffe, Unsplash
- The Dominican Republic has electricity in most rural areas.
- Some small remote communities still do not have electricity.
- Micro-hydropower brings power to distant mountain villages.
- Local people build and manage these small plants.
- Plants use flowing water and avoid large dams.
- Construction can take several years to finish.
- Solar panels are used when rivers run low.
- Many families pay a small fee to join.
- Projects reduce household energy costs and pollution.
Difficult words
- micro-hydropower — small electricity from moving river water
- rural — places outside cities and towns
- remote — far away and hard to reach
- dam — a wall that stops river waterdams
- construction — the work of building something
- solar panel — devices that make electricity from sunlightSolar panels
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you have electricity at home?
- Do you use solar panels where you live?
- Have you ever been to a remote village?
Related articles
Molecule stores sunlight and releases heat on demand
Chemists at UC Santa Barbara designed a modified molecule called pyrimidone that captures sunlight, stores it in chemical bonds and releases it as heat when triggered. Tests released enough heat to boil water under normal conditions.
Women, Forests and COP30: RADD's Forest Immersion in Cameroon
During COP30 in Belém (10–21 November 2025) RADD held a forest immersion on 17 November 2025 in Cameroon. The event connected women, local forest knowledge and global climate debates and included training, planting and exchanges.
Faster recycling of metals from lithium-ion batteries
Rice University researchers report a faster, more energy-efficient way to recover key metals from spent lithium-ion batteries using water-based amino chloride solutions. A hydroxylammonium chloride (HACl) solution showed the best extraction performance in tests.