| Development opportunities a: current total b: future increase c: future total
Left: Shifting demands for hydropower and irrigation water storage could change where grey, green, and grey-green infrastructure is needed for hydropower, irrigation, or both. a) Basin scale map of currently installed hydropower and irrigation volumes from dammed reservoirs. b) Future potentials to increase installed hydropower and irrigation from dammed reservoirs. c) Resulting future totals. Red colours indicate dam portfolios mostly for hydropower, blue colours indicate dam portfolios mostly for irrigation, and green colours indicate dam portfolios for both. Notably, coinciding potentials for hydropower and irrigation from dams could transform dam portfolios from being hydropower dominated to being multi-purpose in many parts of the world. (Source Schmitt and Rosa, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews Volume 199, July 2024)
Infrastructure for hydropower
210 50 1 0
Storage fed irrigation [km3/yr]
Low importance of infrastructure for hydropower and irrigation
Infrastructure mostly for irrigation
Below: Global demands for stored irrigated water is set to increase by 70% between now and 2050
Infrastructure for hydropower and irrigation
to constrain actual gaps for water storage and to identify operational opportunities to close those gaps,” Schmitt and Rosa state. Where hydropower lags behind demand, other
renewable energy sources could pick up the power slack and even allow dam operations to shift focus toward irrigation. Conversely, increasing reliance on non-grey infrastructure storage options could make it easier for dam operations to shift toward producing more energy, making it possible to build fewer and smaller hydropower projects. Where both hydropower and stored irrigation water are in short supply, the need for alternatives to dams and reservoirs will be all the more acute, according to the researchers.
The study has been described as being a first step
towards a unified perspective on water infrastructure for future renewable energy and agriculture systems, but research gaps still persist and require future research. To conclude, the authors say their research highlights the need to consider the multi-purpose roles of grey infrastructure in debates around impacts and alternatives to future large dams and reservoirs. In turn, this points to the need to consider potential externalities that future food and renewable energy systems, and thus critical systems for human development and climate action, might have if their dependence on grey infrastructure is not overcome.
References
Dams for hydropower and irrigation: Trends, challenges, and alternatives by Rafael Jan Pablo Schmitt, Lorenzo Rosa. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews Volume 199, July 2024, 114439.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j. rser.2024.114439
www.waterpowermagazine.com | July 2024 | 23
Installed
hydropower [GW]
0
0.1 5
27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41
