Current Tendencies of Water Resources Using for Providing the Energy Needs of Society

The article describes the studying of objective tendencies of hydropower engineering development for improving the level of providing the increasing energy needs of society. The research method is based on detail analysis of existed information on water resources using for electricity production and discovery of promising avenue of hydropower engineering development. It is highlighted the role of hydraulic energy as one of main types of renewable energy. The article elaborates on the four main tendencies for hydropower development, i.e. intense increasing of hydropower capacity, expansion of the HPP and PSPP functions, construction of the high head HPP and PSPP, enhancing role of small-scale hydropower plants. These tendencies are relevant for global and Ukrainian hydropower engineering. The authors’ view on perspective trends of hydropower development are shown. Among these trends the four main tendencies are emphasized. The received results are useful during considering the specific tasks for establishing hydropower facilities and attracting appropriate investors for their implementation.