Hydropower and the Water Environment

Peter GammeltoftEuropean 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-27Renewables 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)

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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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Heavily modified water bodiesWhere 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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ExemptionsWFD 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:

env-wfd-circa@ec.europa.eu