International Hydropower Association sees a renaissance....but not Maine?....is the obsession w/wind blinding us?

Interview: what is driving the hydropower renaissance?

Hydropower is undergoing a worldwide renaissance; but what are the factors driving it? In this interview, Richard Taylor, chief executive of the International Hydropower Association, discusses the rate of deployment, the challenges and obstacles, and the wider benefits of hydropower.


Richard Taylor speaking in DresdenIHA chief executive Richard Taylor speaking at the 2015 Dresden Nexus Conference
A hydropower renaissance is under way with global capacity expected to grow by 50–100% by 2050. What are the main driving factors? 

Globally, hydropower reached the landmark of 1,000 GW of installed capacity in 2013. In recent years, the growth of the sector has been ranging between 3–4%. At this rate, the doubling of hydropower capacity would be achieved during the late 2030s.

Certainly, the need for clean, affordable energy, and increasingly, the need to have a flexible tool in the energy mix, has driven interest in hydropower. As we have to adapt to the challenges of climate change and growing populations, the need to manage freshwater systems has also become an imperative.

A further consideration is the variability of imported fuel prices. By using an indigenous source of renewable energy to generate electricity, you mitigate the risks associated with the volatility of fossil fuel import costs. 


What are the main challenges and obstacles to the future growth of hydropower?

The decision-making process required for projects to obtain permission to proceed into construction and, subsequently, to commence operations, can be very unpredictable. This is a big challenge for the sector, particularly because there are so many authorities and stakeholders involved in the process.

While there is a great deal of potential in Africa, we have seen relatively low amounts of deployment there to date, but the situation is poised to change."

There is also a lack of incentives to orientate investment towards hydropower. This has been borne out of misperceptions about the specific advantages of hydropower, compounded by the lack of reward in the market for those same advantages: the benefits of hydropower don’t always have a financial value, and that is an obstacle for hydropower projects to be seen as the preferential option.

Risk has to be factored into the process of accessing finance, and hydropower projects, until they’re well-advanced in terms of their implementation, are high risk. That risk-sharing will carry a premium.

This is a problem for large-scale projects in particular, as these typically require high up-front capital costs, despite their very low operation and maintenance costs.


Which are the main regions where growth is likely to be concentrated?

We can expect to see substantial growth in Asia, Africa, and South America, alongside further, but limited, development in North America and Europe. While there is a great deal of potential in Africa, we have seen relatively low amounts of deployment there to date, but the situation is poised to change.

As for Asia, which has the greatest potential for development, we are seeing extraordinary growth in hydropower capacity. China’s exceptional development is set to influence investment in neighbouring countries.

Central Asia, where there is significant potential, is also witnessing increased growth. The countries of the former Soviet Union are planning projects within the context of their national boundaries, but also looking into establishing new regional systems which will rely on international collaboration.

In South Asia, India is taking the lead. This is a large market which is potentially about to see much more activity than in recent times, both within India’s territories and the surrounding countries.

- See more at: https://www.hydropower.org/blog/interview-what-is-driving-the-hydro...

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Comment by alice mckay barnett on January 30, 2016 at 5:03pm

as BIG WIND dynamites Maine's headwaters, water will flow un controllably?

Comment by Dudley G. Gray on January 30, 2016 at 2:26pm

Brookfield's   dam purchases over the years mirror the company's long term view of capital assets.  dams , railroads special land features. It is just another example of the brilliant Canadians buying up Maine  on the cheap. I am beginning to agree with some that if we don't turn the USA around we may become a province of Canada.  

                       Dudley Gray

                   Rangeley Plt.

Comment by Frank J. Heller, MPA on January 29, 2016 at 1:49pm

A suitable hydro site is often a feature of terrain; high ledge, constrictions of a waterway, outflows of lakes; most are diversions of some of the water to an energy producing device--you don't want the entire flow running through your mill!; others were engineered to maintain a constant flow in an entire watershed...lake leveling squabbles are common, when CMP needs more water downstream to keep the turbines running and shorefront owners want an intact waterline. 

Maine has thousands of medium and small sites, we are a  hydro paradise because of our unique geography. We are a network of mill towns and water based facilities, using trillions of tons of falling water...while the water comes and goes, gravity lasts forever...so I"m told.

Comment by alice mckay barnett on January 28, 2016 at 4:09pm

why did Brookfield of Canada buy so many Hydro Dams in Maine?   Once a permit is in hand; do not let it go.  Sort of like Liquor licenses in Massachusetts.

I agree there are sites(knick points) in Maine with dams and waterways set to go back in action.

Do not look for the Penobscot River to have Dams. The natives are claiming it.

I think Hydro Canada's electricity can flow right through Maine to Mass et. al.

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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