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Hydropower and
the Water Environment
Peter Gammeltoft
European Commission
DG Environment, D.1 Water
2nd Workshop on Water Management,
WFD & Hydropower
13-14 September 2011 - Brussels
Hydropower
• is often overshadowed by the excitement about wind and
solar power
• is enjoying something of a global resurgence:
Over the last decade there has been a dramatic increase
in the deployment of new hydropower capacity with
record amounts of hydropower capacity coming online in
2008 and 2009.
• is not only about construction of new dams but also
about modernising existing ones, e.g. in Europe and the
United States
• accounts for about 16 % of the global electricity mix.
Climate change
• Changes in rain or snowfall patterns can drastically
affect the amount of power a dam produces and also the
amount of sediment flowing through the river.
• Small hydropower projects are especially vulnerable to
climate change.
• Due to climate change some dams may get more water
in the future, not less.
• In Norway climate change on balance may even benefit
hydropower plants.
• Climate change is expected to lead to substantial
weather variations.
The challenge
Balancing the requirements of the
• Renewable Energies Directive (RES-e):
– achieving a 20% share of energy from renewable
sources by 2020
• and the Water Framework Directive (WFD):
– achieving good ecological status/potential in surface
waters and groundwater by 2015
 objectives are reconcilable
 need for strategic planning
 CIS guidance agreed with stakeholders
Renewable energy in EU-27
Renewables account for
• 10 % of energy consumption
• 16 % of electricity consumption,
of which 60 % come from
hydropower
Increase in electricity consumption
expected
• total: by 8 % until 2050
• renewables: up to 34 % in 2020
 but the proportion of hydropower
will decrease by half !
Data for EU-27 from 2008; Source: EUROSTAT
Further development of hydropower
• More than 50% of favourable sites across EU-27
have already been exploited1.
• The largest remaining potential in Europe lies in
– low head plants (< 15 m), and in
– the refurbishment of existing facilities.
• Many small hydropower plants are old and need
refurbishment:
– about 65% of plants located in Western Europe
– about 50% of plants in Eastern Europe.
1
Source: Strategic Energy Technology Plan Information System (SETIS)
Integration: getting the right balance
• Correctly apply Article 4 of Water Framework Directive
• Starting early to work with the sectors to identify solutions - making
other policies deliver
• Use the existing tools (e.g. rural development, EU funds)
• Focus on synergies, e.g. with nature conservation
• Risks:
– WFD objectives too low
– RBMP development in isolation
– Objectives under other policies
get overriding priority
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7
Heavily modified water bodies
Where there are existing HP facilities it is possible to designate a
water body as heavily modified, but …
… there are clear conditions that need to be met:
• only if good ecological status cannot be achieved
• only if changes to the hydromorphological characteristics of a
water body would have significant adverse effects on the use
• only if the objectives cannot, for reasons of technical feasibility
or disproportionate costs, reasonably be achieved by other
means, which are a significantly better environmental option:
In HMWB good ecological potential must be reached, but …
… GEP is still an ambitious goal!
Measures still need to be taken to improve the quality of the
water body as much as possible, e.g. by building fish passes,
setting ecological flows, etc.
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8
Exemptions
WFD allows for deterioration by new modifications (such as
hydropower plants), but …
… there are strict conditions that need to be met (Article 4.7):
• No better environmental options
• Project is of overriding public interest/outweighing water
protection benefits
• All mitigation measures are taken
• Project and reasons are reported in RBM Plan
• Other water bodies are not impacted/other objectives not impaired
-> Often related to Habitats Directive Article 6.3
-> CIS Guidance on exemptions
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Strategic planning
• Pre-planning mechanisms allocating „no-go“ areas
• Modernisation and upgrading or existing infrastructures
• New hydropower plants should have e.g. fish
passages and respect minimum ecological flow
• Analysis of costs and benefits of the project necessary
to enable judgement on whether benefits to society
outweigh the losses to the environment
• Size of project not relevant to trigger Art. 4.7
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Hydropower & WFD
European Renewable Energy targets and WFD
objectives are compatible, but:
- early consideration of requirements WFD Article 4(3)
and Article 4(7) & Habitats Directive needed
- planning at river basin level, for consideration of
alternatives
- early involvement of stakeholders and the public
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More information
On water policy:
http://ec.europa.eu/enrivonment/water
WFD CIRCA Information Exchange Platform:
http://circa.europa.eu/
Public/irc/env/wfd/library
Email:
[email protected]
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