Regulations & policy |
Above: The tailings dam wall in Jagersfontein, South Africa collapsed in 2022 resulting in loss of life and property damage
“The capabilities provided by hydropower facilities, along with firm generation and long-term storage, will become even more important as operators add variable renewables to their grids,” said Gilbert Bennett, WPC Interim President. “As fossil- fuel generation is retired and variable renewables such as wind and solar generation come online, the consistency of hydropower will continue to be a critical element in maintaining power system reliability.” As the report concluded: “Canada has a long
history and a well-established base of expertise in the planning, development, and operation of hydropower resources. Though the country, in aggregate, is well- endowed with existing and potential hydropower resources, they are dispersed across the country unevenly and a plan to achieve a net-zero grid must also include the supporting infrastructure to seize the opportunity for hydropower resources to enable a reliable and clean grid across all of Canada. “Providing certain grid services to hydropower- deficient areas from hydropower generation sources that are far away has challenges and cannot alone justify new interregional transmission lines,” the report continued. “However, when combined with the opportunity to deliver additional capacity and energy, enabling the use of long term and seasonal storage, and the ability to provide grid stability, the benefits of access to hydropower and related grid services are far more advantageous.” Policymakers, in thinking about the near and longer
term needs of the country’s electricity supply, are urged to consider developing incentives or policies that will allow for the quicker buildout of hydropower. For example, modification of market rules to better recognise the intrinsic value of hydropower will be a welcome means of incentivising development, while it is also important to encourage more development of the transmission resources that are necessary for ensuring that the benefits of hydropower can be shared among the greatest number of the population. To tie this all together, the report recommends the development of a pan-Canadian blueprint setting out a shared hydropower strategy – developed collaboratively by the provinces, territories, and federal government and accompanied by investment in public education to explain how hydropower contributes to Canada’s net-zero goals.
46 | October 2023 |
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South African compliance The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in
South Africa has called on mining houses that have not registered their tailings dams on the department’s database to submit their information in order to ensure compliance with dam safety regulations. The department is currently updating the database of all tailings or mine residue deposit dams in the country that meet the requirements to be classified as dams with a safety risk, and have called on mines to register their dams as required and submit their information. Dams with a safety risk are those with a minimum height of 5m and able to store more than 50,000m3
of
water or water containing substance. The information will be used to update the register and to monitor these dams as required by the National Water Act and the Dam Safety Regulations.
As the department’s Dam Safety Regulation Director,
Wally Ramokopa, said: “The department, through the directorate responsible for Dam Safety Regulations, is intensifying regulations on the safety of tailings/mine residue deposit dams across the country to ensure that these storage facilities are regulated, with a view of averting another undesirable occurrence, such as Jagersfontein disaster which occurred in the Free State on 11 September 2022, resulting in loss of lives and properties.” Ramokopa said it was important to provide the
correct information to ensure the dams are registered and compliant, and further advised that the information should be compiled by a registered engineering professional with knowledge of dams and/or tailings storage facilities. The department also advises that it will carry out random inspections to verify the accuracy of provided information and the existence of the dams. “DWS has engaged the Department of Mineral
Resources and Energy in order to get the data of mining houses and as a result correspondence has been sent to the owners of at least 337 tailings dams so that they can be classified as dams with a safety risk should they meet the requirements as stated, and we encourage those mining houses that have not disclosed ownership of tailing dams to register with the department,” Ramokopa said.
Call for more reservoirs Conservative MPs in southern England have called for
more reservoirs to be built to ensure countrywide water security throughout increasingly warm summers.
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