This will kickstart a collaboration to defend hydropower’s crucial role in the energy transition and advocate for policy support to maximise its flexibility and pumped storage potential.
At a time when European climate policies are shaken by more hostile energy geopolitics, security of supply and affordability must remain at the top of policymakers’ agenda. Hydropower can and must be part of the solution. Hydropower provides firm and flexible power generation when wind and solar are down and accounts for 90% of Europe’s storage capacity today. Despite its benefit, this century-old renewable source is not receiving the recognition it deserves in Europe. It’s time to change that.
“ Hydropower is a crucial resource for Europe’s energy transition and security of supply. We must prioritise refurbishing and upgrading our existing hydropower plants and expand pumped storage capacities. I look forward to collaborating with the IHA to fully unlock hydropower’s potential across Europe.”
The cooperation will focus on three key pillars:
- Closing knowledge gaps among policymakers: hydropower is often less understood compared to wind, solar, and battery storage due to its complexity. Many are unaware that there are three primary types of hydropower plants—run-of-river, reservoir, and pumped storage—and the essential services they provide. The two associations will focus on increasing awareness about the diversity of hydropower technologies.
- Ensuring a more supportive policy framework for different hydropower plants: not all hydropower is the same. Each type vary significantly in characteristics, requirements, and services, thus deserving specific consideration in legislation. We aim to foster a more favourable policy framework that supports and accelerates investments in these different technologies to meet Europe’s energy transition goals.
- Boosting Pumped Storage Hydropower for 2025: pumped storage enable large-scale, highly efficient storage of surplus electricity and will play a pivotal role as wind and solar deployment surges. Eurelectric and IHA will partner up at the 2025 International Forum on Pumped Storage Hydropower 2.0, in Paris, to raise awareness over this technology.
How about hydropower’s environmental impact?
Hydropower generation is one of various human activities that impact free flowing rivers and the related freshwater species. The power sector is aware of these effects and is taking comprehensive actions to minimise negative impacts on nature during the development, construction and operation of a hydropower plant.
As shown in Eurelectric’s latest hydropower short story “A Sector contributing to nature conservation and restoration”, the sector is showing its commitment to minimising environmental impacts by:
- Adhering to the mitigation hierarchy: a step-by-step approach that limits as much as possible the negative effects on biodiversity. Ever heard of prevention is better than cure?
- Prioritise refurbishment and upgrade of existing plants instead of building new facilities
- Engaging with local communities in developing a project as well as in decision-making processes
- Conducting extensive research and monitoring to understand and mitigate negative environmental impacts, then sharing the acquired knowledge.
- Comply with EU and national regulatory requirements on plant design, construction and operation
- Finding cross-sectoral synergies to maximise benefits for the environment
For more information, take a look at Eurelectric’s “Guidebook to Electrify in Harmony with Nature”.