Part of the Renewable Family - Startpage - VGB … is at the Heart of the Renewable Energy Family..... 2 The Renewable Energy Source ..... 3 ... pear as clouds, fog, mist, dew or frost.

HydropowerPart of the Renewable Family

Table of Contents

Foreword / Prologue ....................................................................................................................................... 1

Hydropower is at the Heart of the Renewable Energy Family ........................................................................... 2

The Renewable Energy Source ........................................................................................................................ 3

Hydrological Cycle ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Historical Background .................................................................................................................................. 4

Hydropower is Today’s Largest Source of Renewable Electricity Generation .................................................. 6

The Potential of Hydropower ........................................................................................................................ 7

Contributor to Climate Change Mitigation .................................................................................................... 8

Types of Hydropower Plants ............................................................................................................................ 9

Run-of-River Hydropower Plants .................................................................................................................. 9

Storage Hydropower Plants ......................................................................................................................... 10

Pumped Storage Power Plants ..................................................................................................................... 11

Hydropower Keeps the System Running ........................................................................................................ 12

The Future Electricity System: Stable and Secure .......................................................................................... 12

Hydropower is High-tech Made in Europe ..................................................................................................... 14

Research and Development ........................................................................................................................... 14

Economic Value ............................................................................................................................................. 15

Hydropower Technology Respects the Environment and Nature .................................................................... 16

Positive Effects of Hydropower Plants on Their Immediate Vicinity ............................................................... 16

In Accordance with European Legislation ...................................................................................................... 18

Hydropower has Lowest Water and Carbon Footprint .................................................................................... 18

Water Footprint .......................................................................................................................................... 18

Overall Energy Balance ............................................................................................................................... 18

Public Confidence and Acceptance ................................................................................................................ 19

High Acceptance ......................................................................................................................................... 19

Hydropower is a Key to Socio-economic Development ................................................................................ 19

Other Benefits of Hydropower ....................................................................................................................... 20

1

Hydropower | Part of the Renewable Energy Family

Foreword / PrologueEnergy is central to nearly every major challenge in the run up to 2030, and every opportunity the world faces to-day. Europe has to ensure that it addresses successfully the dual challenge of meeting growing energy demand whilst at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The European member states have therefore agreed on le-gally-binding national targets for increasing the share of renewable energies to 20 % in final energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 % and to achieve a 20 % increase in energy efficiency by 2020. Furthermore a new 2030 Framework for climate and energy was agreed with at least a 27 % share of renewable energy consump-tion, a 40 % cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels, and at least 27 % energy savings compared with the business-as-usual scenario.

In fact, more than 1.4 billion people worldwide have no access to electrici-ty, and 1 billion more only have intermittent access. Hydropower, in fact is one of the renewable energies which provides safe, secure, sustain able and competitive electricity today and for the future. Especially in the energy sector, with long lead times and long-term amortisation periods, a clear long-term plan is crucial to introduce the energy transition towards an af-fordable and low-carbon energy supply by 2030 and beyond. Establishing competitive production of high efficient energy storage, with technologies such as pumped storage hydropower or batteries in electric vehicles will be needed for exploiting future Smart Grid applications and for backing up an increased share of renewable energies.

Energy is central to everything we do. Europe is aware of the fact that it has to play a leading role in promoting green energy and in all EU member states it can be seen a greater sensitivity to environmental issues.

Europe’s hydropower industry is a world leader in offering sustainable development and innovation for the environ-mental friendly generation of energy. The power of tech-nology and innovation is important for pushing big ideas, making the low carbon shift, creating new industries and jobs and more importantly, in the service of people, our future generations and the planet.

Dolgarrog hydro site, United Kingdom, innogy SE.

Lake Schluchsee pump storage hydropower plant, Germany, Schluchseewerke AG.

2


In this day and age, a large majority of the European population sup-ports the use and further extension of renewable energy sources. That is why “renewables” are a key ele-ment of the EU’s energy policy. The aim is to decrease emissions from carbon-based energy sources, to re-duce de pendency on fuel from non-member countries, and to de-couple energy costs from oil prices.

Out of the different renewable en-ergy sources, hydropower is the one which is indispensable for the ener-gy mix of the future:

• The long-term profitability and independence from subsidies, con tribute to price stability.

• Lowest CO2-emissions among all renewable energy sources are evi-dence of the eco friendliness of hydropower.

• Other renewable energy sources like wind and solar power gener-ate electricity with high fluctua-tions. In contrast, hydropower operates in a stable and predicta-ble manner. Additionally the hy-dropower from storage and pumped storage plants can be used to stabilise the electrical sys-tem by using their reservoirs.

Hydropower is at the Heart of the Renewable Energy Family

The family of renewable technologiesThe renewable energy “family” consists of different energy sources – sun, wind, water, biomass – and technologies we can use to exploit these sources.

But hydropower differs from other renewable sources due to its large capacity range going from several kilowatt (kW) to hundreds of megawatt (MW), flexi bility and storage capability when coupled with a reservoir. It can operate both in standalone systems as well as in grids of all sizes, so it delivers a broad range of services. Hydropower has very high conversion efficiencies (about 85 to 95 %) and low operational expenditures.

As a family, the renewable energy technologies create synergies where the whole is larger than the mere sum of technologies. As a consequence, the cooperation among them brings us faster to a future with greener electricity. With its excellent flexibility and vast network of installations, hydropower is at the heart of this cooperation among the renewable energy family members.

The renewable family

Less adjustable More adjustable Baseload

Solar Bio

Adjustablehydropower

Wave and tidal

Wind Geothermic

3


The Renewable Energy SourceHydrological Cycle

Hydropower is renewable energy. It uses the hydrologic cycle, which is ultimately driven by the sun-mak-ing hydropower an indirect form of solar energy. The hydrological cycle is an endless, constantly recharging system: As long as the water cycle continues, Earth will not run out of this energy source.

The cycle starts with the warming of the Earth’s surface due to in-coming sun radiation. This leads to the evaporation of water from the Earth’s water sources (oceans, rivers, lakes) and the transpira-tion from plants [Figure 1].

The water vapour rises into the at-mosphere where it cools down and condenses. Condensation may ap-pear as clouds, fog, mist, dew or frost. As the temperature in air falls small water droplets fall down to Earth in the form of precipita-tion. One part of the precipitation replenishes the oceans, lakes and rivers.

Another part of the cycle is the wa-ter naturally percolating through the soil into the groundwater bod-ies before entering the streams and rivers.

This cycle is a never-ending driver of hydropower technology. The nat-ural storage in soil and groundwa-ter allows hydropower plants to run even if it is not raining and thus as-sure predictability and availability.

This endless cycle drives hydro-power plants which will generate electricity with the highest efficien-cy, low cost, easy to store and easy to dispatch.

Condensation

Transpirationfrom plants

Evaporationfrom oceans,

lakes & streams

Precipitation

GroundwaterSurface runoff

Storagepower plant

Run-of-riverpower plant

Figure 1: Hydrological cycle including hydropower use.

The hydrological cycle, driven by the energy of the sun, is endlessly ongoing. It served the first users of hydropower millenniums ago as it does today with the help of high sophisticated turbines, offering electricity with the lowest possible greenhouse gas footprint.

There is still a high potential unused, in global as in European scale.

Älvkarleby Hydropower Station − One of the first in Sweden, Vattenfall.

4


Historical BackgroundThe ability of mankind to use and redirect water for its own needs constituted a big turnaround for civilisation. As early as 4000 B.C., first known cultures settled close to rivers or lakes to irrigate fertile soil. Sumerians living in lower Mesopotamia were among the first who controlled rivers by building dams as flood protection or chan-nels to irrigate dry infertile lands for agricultural activity [Figure 2]. The mechanical power of falling water was used by the ancient Greeks to grind wheat into flour around 2000 years ago – the birth of hydropower.

The running of mills by water wheels constituted an important development for industry and busi-ness during the middle ages. Dur-ing the course of time, hydropower technology continued to improve. In the 1700s, mechanical hydro-power was primarily used for pump-ing and milling; during the 1800s, hydropower became an extended source of electrical energy. Benoît Fourneyron’s invention of the first commercially successful low pres-sure turbine (1826) provided the

template for today’s well-known Francis turbine (1848) [Figure 3].

The first hydropower plant went in-to operation in 1880 in Northum-berland, England. At that time, Lester Allen Pelton invented a free-jet impulse system to turn water wheels, today known as the Pelton turbine [Figure 4 and 6]. A few years later, in 1886 the first large hydroelectric power station was put into operation at the Niagara Falls in the United States, which was harnessed for industrial usage.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the use of hydropower increased by more than 10 % annually. Following Francis and Pelton’s turbine, a final major type of hydropower wheel came into being: The Kaplan tur-bine [Figure 5 and 7] was developed and patented by the Austrian engi-neer Viktor Kaplan in 1913.

The progressing industrialisation and electrification in the 1920s with its need to store energy gave a great impulse to the further devel-opment. Storage and pumped stor-age hydropower became more and more important: To release the en-ergy in the periods when electricity is demanded and, in the case of pumped storage plants, to store a surplus of electricity generation by pumping water into higher reser-voirs.

During the 1930s, larger dams and enhanced turbine designs went into production. The heyday of hydro-power construction began ten years later, in parallel to the industrial growth after World War II, with the expansion of larger distribution and transmission lines. Especially after the oil crisis in the 1970s, hydropow-er gained major importance for ener-gy producers as a safe and cost-effi-cient energy source.

Figure 2: The Norias of Hama, Syria at the Orontes River.

Figure 3: Runner of a Francis pump turbine, Limberg II, Austria.

Figure 4: Maintenance work at the Pelton unit (turbine and generator) at the storage hydropower plant ReisseckKreuzeck, Austria.

Figure 5: Kaplan turbine – view through the wicket gate to the Kaplan runner, Freudenau hydropower plant, Austria.

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Today, hydropower is the world’s largest source of renewable elec-tri city. Pumped storage tech nology is still the only available large scale electricity storage option to com-pensate the fluctuation introduced by the growing generation from other renewable sources. In future

hydropower will continue to have a significant and sustainable share in the “energy transition”, to pro-vide power system stability and flexible supply, to help to lower greenhouse gas emissions and last but not least to decrease the over-all price of electricity production.

Gantry craneHeadwater area Tailwater area

Machine hall Foot and bicycle path

Stoplog hoistAverage water level152.42 m

Max. operation level161.35 m

Rake cleaning machine

Trash rakeSlurry trench

Inspection passage Main unit withKaplan bulb turbinem.a.s.f

Danube142.00 mTurbine axis

Figure 7: Cross section of a runofriver hydropower plant with a Kaplan turbine with horizontal shaft.

0 1 2 3 4 5 10 m

Machine hall

Control cable passage Generator cable passage

Turbine tailrace

Maintransformer

10 kVcubicles

Trans-formercooling

Lowernozzle elbow

Sphericalvalve

Uppernozzle elbow

Turbineaxis644.1 m

Generator10 kVBus-bars

Peltonturbine

Figure 6: Cross section of a power house with Pelton turbine, storage hydropower plant Mayrhofen in Austria.

6


Hydropower is Today’s Largest Source of Renewable Electricity GenerationOn a global scale, hydropower is the largest source of renewable energy, providing more than 1 billion peo-ple with environmentally-friendly electricity. It generates around 16 %

of global electricity production, which constitutes a share of 72.5 % in renewable electricity generation [Figure 8 and 9].

Within the European Union (EU-28) the percentage of newly pro-duced renewable energies doubled from 1990 to 2014. From 2000 to 2014 the share of renewables in-creased from 14,8 % up to 28,2 % [Figure 10].

Even though sun and wind pow-er generation increased strongly, hydropower remained the sin-gle largest source of renewable electricity generation in 2014 in Europe [Figure 11 and 12].

Conventionalthermal67 % Hydroelectric

16 %

Non-hydroelectricrenewables

6 %

Nuclear11 %

Figure 8: Electricity generation – Generation mix worldwide 2014. Data base: IEA, World Energy Outlook 2016.

Geothermal1.5 %

Solar, tidaland wave

3.5 %

Wind13.3 %

Biomass and Waste

Biomassand waste9.2 %

Hydroelectric72.5 %

Figure 9: Renewable electricity generation worldwide 2014. Data base: IEA, World Energy Outlook 2016.

100 %

90 %

80 %

70 %

60 %

50 %

40 %

30 %

20 %

10 %

0 %1990 2000 2010 2014

Renewables

Nuclear

Oil andproducts

Gases

Solid fuels

Year

Shar

e in

%

Figure 10: EU28 gross electricity generation (1990, 2000, 2010 and 2014). Data base: Eurostat, data: 2014.

7


The Potential of HydropowerThe worldwide potential of hydro-power is more than four times high-er than the currently installed ca-pacity of more than 1,000 gigawatt (GW, Hydropower & Dams World Atlas, 2013). Recently there exists approximately 218 GW of installed hydropower capacity in Europe, of which more than 150 GW is gener-ated from storage and pumped storage plants (IHA – Hydropower Status Report, 2016).

In Europe, there exists still an esti-mated hydropower potential of about 650 terrawatt hours (TWh) per year (EU-28 and Norway, Swit-zerland and Turkey). Highly sensi-tive or environmentally-protected areas are not included in this calcu-lation. Under appropriate frame-work conditions, a further expan-sion of hydropower is quite conceiv-able. Pumped storage remains a focus of activities with 8,600 MW planned or under construction (IHA – Hydropower Status Report, 2016).

Geothermal1 %Biomass

18 %

Solar11 %

Wind28 %

Hydro42 %

Figure 12: EU28 gross renewable electricity generation 2014 (899 TWh). Data base: Eurostat, data: 2014.

Table 1: Hydropower generation in Europe and the undeveloped potential. Source: EURELECTRIC, Hydropower for a sustainable Europe 2013, and DG Energy, Statistical pocketbook 2015.

Key figures on hydropower in Europe

EU28 EURELECTRIC members

Generation 403 TWh 553 TWh

Capacity 150 GW 198 GW

Further generation potential 298 TWh 650 TWh

Wastes1 %Oil and

products2 %

Nuclear28 %

Gases15 %

Solid fuels25 %

Renewables29 %

Figure 11: EU28 gross electricity generation 2014 (3,191 TWh). Data base: Eurostat, data: 2014.

8


Contributor to Climate Change MitigationThe greenhouse gas emissions per unit of electric energy production for hydropower over the life cycle are the lowest of all renewable en-ergy sources. Only small amounts of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere during their

construction, operation and main-tenance. Hydropower today already avoids about 180 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in the EU-28 every year compared to conventional forms of energy production which results in a lower carbon footprint.

Life

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Renewables Non-renewables

Biop

ower

Phot

ovol

taic

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Sola

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er

Geo

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Hydr

opow

er

Oce

an

Win

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Nuc

lear

Nat

ural

gas Oil

Coa

l

Figure 13: Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of electricity generation by technology. Source: EURELECTRIC, Hydropower for a sustainable Europe. Data base: IPCC 2011, Summary for Policymakers.

Hydropower, in all its sizes, plays a key role in the European electricity system and still has an important development potential:

• It provides important quantities of lowcarbon electricity at low costs, limits society’s expenses for the movement towards a greener energy system and supports Europe’s competitiveness in the global economy.

• Utilising hydropower’s whole range of installations – from small to large, fluctuating to storage, decentralised to centralised – enables the reliable and costeffective integration of growing wind and solar power.

• Hydropower reduces dependency on fossil fuel imports and creates value and employment in Europe.

9


Types of Hydropower PlantsHydropower plants harness the power from water under the influ-ence of gravity by transforming in-to electrical power. Water drives a turbine, the produced mechanical power is used to generate electric-ity by means of a generator, which

in turn produces the electricity. The most common classification is made by:

• Run-of-river power plants,

• Storage power plants and

• Pumped storage power plants.

Run-of-River Hydropower Plants

Run-of-river power plants are situ-ated at flowing rivers and produce a nearly constant amount of energy. The output of the power plants de-pends on the respective water flow rate and on the difference between upstream water and downstream water.

In general, the plant uses mainly the incoming water discharge to pro-duce electricity and seasonal dif-ferences in discharge and different outputs of power generation may occur. Nevertheless, in a moderate climate one can expect a constant base discharge, even at times with-out rain. That is why most streams and rivers in a moderate climate have their own water storage in the soil, i. e. the groundwater flowing constantly to the river. Thus, run-of-river plants are used to supply the base load of electricity.

The capacity of a plant ranges from a few kilowatts (kW) in small scale hydropower plants to hundred mega watts (MW). The possible electricity generation is strongly re-lated to the size and number of the turbines and generators installed.

Currently, run-of-river power plants represent the most common type of hydropower plants used worldwide.

There exist three major types of hydropower plants: Runofriver power plants, storage power plants and pumped storage power plants. Hydroelectric power plants convert the potential energy of water into electricity.

Freudenau runofriver power plant at the Danube river, Austria, Verbund Hydro Power GmbH.

Rheinkraftwerk Iffezheim runofriver power plant, Germany/France, EnBW AG.

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Storage Hydropower PlantsThe basic equipment of every stor-age power plant is a storage lake or reservoir, which reduces the de-pendency on water inflows for elec-tricity production.

In alpine mountain ranges, storage lakes are filled through the accumu-lation of glacier and precipitation waters. The reservoirs are usually fed by a canal, tunnel or pipeline from a nearby river. Through pres-sure shafts, the stored water is led to the turbines in the lower level powerhouse and the power cavern respectively. As in the run-of-river power plants, the generator converts the rotary motion into electricity. The design and subsequently the installed capacity of storage power plants depends on the topography and characteristics of the landscape

and usually ranges from 10 MW to over 1,000 MW. Besides of the stor-ing of water itself, another impor-tant factor and benefit of storage power plants represents the flexibil-ity in energy production. Within less than five minutes, storage power plants can unfold their power from 0 to 100 %, providing the electric-ity grid with an additional surge to cover peak loads on time and on de-mand.

In addition, storage power plants provide “black start capacity”: Af-ter a shut-down of the electrical system storage plants are able to restart it (and thermal and nucle-ar power plants) without any ex-ternal sources. So, even in “dark times”, hydropower keeps the sys-tem running.

Lünersee reservoir pumped storage hydropower plant, Austria, Vorarlberger Illwerke AG.

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Pumped Storage Power Plants

A pumped storage power plant is a special form of a storage power plant [Figure 14]. During off-peak hours (for instance at night), a pumped storage facility stores en-ergy by pumping the water from a lower reservoir to an upper reser-voir. During peak load times, the stored water of the upper reservoir is again discharged through the tur-

bines towards the lower reservoir and thus used for producing elec-tricity. Today storage and pumped storage plants represent 99 % of the worldwide installed power storage capacity. Due to their characteristi-cally high flexibility of energy stor-age and generation and because of their high efficiency rates (more than 80 % of output), pumped storage power plants are designed to consume energy (pumping pro-cess) during times of excess energy, and to produce energy during times of energy need. Thus, pumped stor-age plants represent the most ef-ficient way to store large amounts of electrical energy and to meet peak times of electricity demand. With respect to the economic costs, pumped storage technology is the first choice for increasing storage capacities due to its efficiency and its low specific storage costs in com-parison with other storage options. In 2013, around 50,000 MW of pumped storage plants were in op-eration in Europe.

Reservoir Surge tank

Arch dam

Valve chamber

Spherical valve

PenstockPowerhouse cavern

Slide gateValve chamber

Reservoir

Arch dam

ReversibleFrancis turbine

Motor/Generator

Figure 14: Schematic illustration of a pumped storage hydropower plant.

Goldisthal pumped storage power plant is situated in eastern Thuringia, Germany, Vattenfall, R. Weisflog.

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Hydropower Keeps the System RunningAt any time, Europe needs a secure and low-cost energy supply. The task is to control, monitor and re-balance the grid to guarantee a safe and constant supply of electricity for more than 700 million people in Europe. Hydropower’s high flexibil-ity and storage capacity are espe-

cially valuable to meet sudden fluc-tuations in electricity demand. It is also required to match supply from less flexible electricity sources and the growing rate of variable renew-able sources to guarantee security of supply [Figure 15].

Flexible hydropower is one of the key solutions that today substantially supports security of supply in our system. Flexible hydropower plants and especially storage and pump storage power plants are able to compensate and if necessary, to store the volatile generation of wind and solar power.

Nominal rating of wind & solar

Load curve of feed-in power of wind and solar80,000

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0

Infe

ed p

ower

and

rat

ed p

ower

in M

W

Oct

Nov Dec Jan

Feb

Mar

ch

Apr

il

May

June July

Aug Sep

Oct

2012 2013

Total load

Figure 15: Load curve of all wind & solar systems and total load in Germany (October 2012 to October 2013). Source: EEX, Bundesnetzagentur, Windmonitor.de, Entsoe, Rolf Schuster.

Blasjö Reservoir, 7.8 TWh storage hydropower plant Tonstad, Norway, Statkraft.

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The Future Electricity System: Stable and SecureEuropean member states are aiming for a 20 % share of renewables in electricity generation by 2020. By 2030 this share should be increased up to 27 % and there is also a policy roadmap up to 2050. The increase will mainly be based on generation from rising share of wind and pho-tovoltaic capacities in the overall capacity. Reliant on weather con-ditions, they generate from hardly any to excess electrical power with severe consequences for the stabili-ty of the grid. The balance between production and consumption has to be maintained at all times, since electricity cannot be readily stored, but households as well as major customers such as the production industries depend on grid stability. Imbalances between electricity sup-ply and demand can lead to black-outs with major impacts on society and the economy.

Today a smart grid structure in-terconnects flexible power plants (hydropower and gas) with stor-age facilities (pump storage) to balance the system. Run-of-river power plants are deployed for cov-ering base load energy demand, as they run permanently. Storage and pumped storage power plants are capable of producing electricity at peak-load times, operating during

massive energy demand periods. In future, the fluctuating renewables may lead to power fluctuations on the supply side in dimensions which never occurred on the consumption side in the past.

Europe’s power system needs a diversified mix of grid extension, power plant flexibility, demand side management and storage capaci-ties to master the future challenges. Currently, pumped storage plants are the only widespread, large-scale electricity storage technology.

Hydropower is an energy source that provides necessary flexibility [Figure 16] and “back-up capaci-ty” for the national and European grid stability due to its run-of-riv-er plants with their stable, to some extent weather-independent dis-charge and due to its quick to mo-bilise storage and pump storage plants. Such flexibility enables hy-dropower to meet sudden fluctua-tions in demand or help to compen-sate for the loss of power from other sources. Hydropower can be seen at the heart of the renewable energy family.

Therefore it is reasonable to extend not only run-of-river plants but al-so hydropower plants with storage and pumped storage technology.

Hydropower plays an important role to maintain efficient security of supply since they store huge amounts of energy at lowest costs. The plants can be designed to produce electricity for base and peak demand. Hydropower also provides the full range of auxiliary services because of the high penetration of fluctuating renewable energy sources. The quick start capability of storage and pumped storage plants helps to cope with fluctuations in electricity system loading.

Scheduled energy day ahead

Scheduled energy intraday

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Time

Figure 16: Flexible operation of a pump storage hydropower plant on the example of Kops II, Austria.

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Hydropower is High-Tech Made in EuropeIntegrated site specific technolo-gies and high-efficient solutions characterise Europe’s hydropower business. As of today, the Europe-an industry sector has always been a leader in the production and in-novation of hydropower technol-ogy. Three large hydro equipment companies and hundreds of small-er facilities in Europe have a two-thirds share in the global hydro-power market, safeguarding 80,000 high-qualified jobs in the EU-28. To-gether they produce and represent the high technology sector situated in Europe.

Research and DevelopmentToday’s hydropower technology provides proven and sophisticated solutions for highly reliable, flexi-ble and electricity price-stabilising power generation. It is known as a mature technology which no longer requires significant technological breakthroughs.

However, ongoing research in the field of the hydraulic and electrical equipment, tunnelling techniques, integrated river basin management, and environmental-friendly mate-rials and technologies may ensure continuous improvement for future projects.

Continued research and develop-ment in the field of hydropower are crucial to ensure innovative new and marketable technologies. Two research fields are crucial: environ-mental improvement and technical improvement.

Having both goals in mind, Euro-pean hydropower industries are enhancing turbines that produce higher power outputs, provide more flexibility and have positive impact on the environment [Figure 17].

Further improvements and research are necessary to analyse, in more detail, the sediment transport to-wards downstream rivers/water bodies as well as fish migration pat-terns and behaviour.

Efficiency improvement of hydropower

+ 4 %

KaplanFrancisPelton

Pelto

n su

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75 %

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

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ine

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95 %

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80 %

Figure 17: Example of technical development in the field of hydropower:efficiency gains of turbines. Source: Hydro Equipment Association, Andritz Hydro.

Fixing of the poles at the rotor shaft of the generator. Langenprozelten traction pumped storage power plant, RheinMainDonau AG, Jan Kiver.

15


Economic ValueThe inherent technical, economic and environmental advantages of hydroelectric power determine this technology as crucial for the future energy mix.

Investments in hydropower are marked by relatively high initial outlays which, due to the long life-time of the plants of more than 100 years, are followed by very low op-erating costs, often less than 1 €Cent per kWh [Figure 18]. A macro economic study on hydro-

power in Europe (KEMA Consulting GmbH, 2015) gives a very good overview about the economic ef-fects of hydropower in Europe. For example – the contribution of hy-dropower to the European gross do-mestic product is more than 38 bil-lion € (25 billion € in EU-28) and there are 80,000 highly qualified jobs related to hydropower. The Eu-ropean manufacturers have two-thirds of the world wide market share and they invest 5 % of their annual turnover into R&D.

Hydropower is a proven and well advanced technology with over a century of experience. R&D efforts are required to improve already high (> 90 %) efficiency rates, to reduce costs and to mitigate unavoidable negative environmental impacts, as well as to improve reliability and durability of hydropower technologies.

High value employment:

• 650,000 € annual value creation per employee.

• This is more than eight times higher than the average in the EU manufacturing sector.

Wind electricity

Ocean electricity

Hydropower

Geothermal electricity

Solar electricity

Biomass electricity

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

€Cent2005/kWh

Figure 18: Levelised cost of electricity generation. Source: Adapted from IPCC, 2011.

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Hydropower Technology Respects the Environment and NatureDue to ongoing climate change, re-newable energies have gained more importance on a global level. Hy-dropower is one of the renewable energies which is broadly environ-

mentally friendly and supports vol-atile energy sources, thereby saving natural resources and helping to re-duce greenhouse gas emissions.

Positive Effects of Hydropower Plants on Their Immediate VicinityToday, any infrastructure develop-ment inevitably involves a certain degree of change, and raises spe-cific environmental issues related to the transformation of land use and of river flow patterns. However, hydropower has several positive ef-fects on the environment. Eventual negative aspects can be marginal-ised through various initiatives, and by state-of-the-art innovations and technologies.

To begin with, newly erected hydro-power plants are mostly construct-ed in already modified water bod-ies. It is apparent that for mastering the reservoir sedimentation issues, the use of strategies for controlling reservoir sedimentation and shal-low water zones becomes increas-ingly important.

Secondly, fish passes ensure a flu-ent upstream passage of organisms in order to keep up the natural mi-gration behaviour of fish. Aquatic organisms need to migrate for re-production, food supply or chang-ing needs during their lifetime de-velopment. In order to restore river continuity, the establishment of fish passage facilities has been compul-sorily included into the European

Examples of fish passes. More natural and technical solutions.

water legislation. As for the way downstream, fish-friendly turbines achieve a balancing act thanks to a design innovation that does enable the ecologically-responsible devel-opment of hydropower resources.

New build Hagneck hydropower plant, Switzerland, BKW Energie AG. Preservation of habitats, flora and fauna as well as landscape at a high level.

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Thirdly, reservoirs can also be used for irrigation and recreational tour-ism in form of water sports, fishing, swimming, boating, in addition to other activities (so-called “mul-ti-purpose-projects”). The land sites

around hydropower plants have often been transformed to natural reserve areas and protection zones after the construction and installa-tion phase.

Many power plants are a popular holiday destination, offering the opportunity to experience nature.

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In Accordance with European LegislationA new era of legislation is at hand for Europe’s energy production and environmental protection. Most countries have relevant legislation at national and regional levels to ensure compliance with Europe-an legislation. Hydropower plants must be in accordance with exist-

ing and forthcoming EU policies, for instance the European Water Framework Directive or Natura 2000. They were decreed to receive the “good status” of the water bod-ies in the relevant area and to pro-tect the morphology of European waters.

Lowest Water and Carbon FootprintIn these days of heightened envi-ronmental awareness, environ-mentally sustainable generation of electricity is crucial. The level of interest and intent on using re-newable technologies in energy has been at a high level for a long time. As a consequence, govern-

ments, business and consumers try to find ways to reduce the water and carbon footprint for the sake of future generations. Hydropower is an electricity producing technology with only a small water footprint and by far one with the smallest carbon footprint [Figure 13].

Water Footprint Freshwater and drinking water scarcity has become an important topic on the environmental agenda. Hydropower neither consumes or pollutes water that it uses for elec-tricity generation. All water used to

generate electricity is returned to the water body unchanged. In ad-dition, hydropower neither pollutes air, or generates waste heat, noise or industrial waste.

Overall Energy BalanceGlobal warming and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are at the top of the environmental pol-icy agenda. Hydropower technol-ogy provides relief for the energy bill of every country since it does not require any fossil-based pri-mary energy, but additionally, in terms of its overall energy balance, hydropower generates up to 280 times more energy than used dur-ing construction and operation, considering a usual lifetime of 100 years [Figure 19]. This ratio is at a large distance not equalled by any other electricity producing tech-nology.

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Hydropower

Wind

Solar, photovoltaic

SolarConcentrated solar power

Geothermal

Natural gasCombined cycle

Lignite

Nuclear

Energy ratio: kWhgenerated/kWhneeded

Figure 19: Life cycle assessment of electricity; range of the energy payback ratio. Source: Hydropower for a sustainable Europe, EURELECTRIC, 2013.

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Public Confidence and AcceptanceHydropower is more than a clean and sustainable electricity produc-tion. It also enhances rural devel-opment. Benefits range from the tourism sector to the local economy. These benefits are attributed to the

electricity itself and to side-bene-fits, often associated with reservoir. Studies show that, once the plants are installed in their vicinity, people do welcome this form of renewable energy.

High Acceptance

In contrast to emission-intensive electricity technologies, which are increasingly facing additional regu-latory burdens (e.g. emissions trad-ing) and public resistance, hydro-power is generally seen as a clean and renewable energy source.

While especially smaller plants enjoy high public acceptance the closer a bigger project is located to one’s personal property, the more difficult it might be to achieve ac-knowledgment and support (“not in my backyard”). However, people already living in the neighbourhood of large plants with maybe large reservoirs, recognise the benefit of the positive impacts on local econo-my and recreation possibilities.

To meet the legitimate demands of all stakeholders, electricity suppli-ers strive to carry out projects with large public participation and a high degree of societal acceptance. So it is perfectly natural for every provid-er to meet the high European legal standards for environment and safe-ty. One of the best examples for suc-cessful public involvement is shown in a study about the Salzach region. Even though a planned hydropower plant is situated in a highly sensi-

tive area (Natura 2000), more than 60 % of the inhabitants are gener-ally in favour of hydropower plants and are aware of its positive con-tribution and importance for a sus-tainable energy future. Even more, 78 % regard hydropower as a sus-tainable form of renewable energy.

Hydropower is a key to socio-economic development

According to the World Bank, “large hydropower projects can have im-portant multiplier effects creating an additional 40 to 100 €cents of in-direct benefits for every dollar of val-ue generated”. The requirements such as the construction of infra-structure are seen as benefits com-pared to the long construction phase and relatively high installation costs.

Hydropower jobs are created and secured for the construction, main-tenance and plant operation, in particular on the local level. With a lifespan of 100 years and more, hydropower projects leave a wide range of needed services providing employment for decades. In many cases the construction and develop-ment of hydropower lead to general economic and societal amelioration.

Limmern pumped storage plant with the Mutt Lake dam, Switzerland, Axpo Power AG, Daniel Werder.

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Other Benefits of HydropowerFlood protection: Hydropower plants protect potentially endan-gered flood areas and play an im-portant role in ultimately reducing damage to surrounding buildings and infrastructure. During times of increased precipitation, dam opera-tions can keep the river level lower than in normal circumstances. The high retention capacity of reservoirs allows the lowering of flood peaks, curbing the flood discharge and thereby improving overall flood pro-tection. Run-of-river power plants operate in a comparable way. If the water level rises to a threatening level, spillways are opened or closed to delay the flood peak or decrease its intensity. Many other measures are taken to ensure an overall im-provement of flood impacts such as bypass channels and automated wells to stabilise aquifers (ground-water bodies) during flood peaks.

Navigability: In some rivers with shipping traffic, navigability can be established or increased by de-creasing their flow velocity and stabilising water depths through the dams and weirs of hydropower plants.

Securing irrigation and drinking water supply: In arid areas, the pres-ervation of drinking water quality is of equal or even higher importance for efficient electricity production. Here, modern reservoir manage-ment helps to ensure that cities and their residents are supplied with sufficient water for drinking and/or irrigation purposes.

The navigation on the Danube is significantly improved by hydroelectric power stations and also much safer.

VGB PowerTech e.V.Deilbachtal 17345257 Essen | Germany

Fon: +49 201 8128 – 0Fax: +49 201 8128 – 302www.vgb.org

Dr Mario BachhieslWolfgang Czolkoss (resp.)ISBN: 978-3-86875-952-5

VGB PowerTech e. V. is the international technical association for generation and storage of power and heat.

Since 2000 «VGB PowerTech | Hydro» has provided a growing platform for operators of hydro power plants as well as hydro equipment manufacturers for sharing experience and knowledge at a high expertise level.

Supported by

Active members in committees of «VGB PowerTech| Hydro».

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