| Regulations & policy
Left: The final version of the International Hydropower Association’s Bali Statement on Powering Sustainable Growth will be unveiled at the 2023 World Hydropower Congress in Bali during November 2023
Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, said: “Unless we want to see longer and more regular hosepipe bans or even water shortages during hot summers, we must build more reservoirs.” Sally-Ann Hart, Tory MP for Hastings and Rye, said: “As the climate changes, we will need more reservoirs to keep the taps running throughout boiling summers, protect wildlife, and enable farmers to keep growing nutritious food. We need to get building and ensure these sites deliver for communities and nature.” As heat waves continue to put the squeeze on
precious water supplies, Philip Dunne, MP and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, warned that it is only likely to get worse as time goes on. “Schools have even closed their doors after taps ran dry because demand for water outstripped supply,” he said. “Future projections of hotter, drier summers could result in reduced water levels, with some rivers potentially losing half of their water. There will also be greater demand for water to drink, keep cool and sustain gardens and crops.” “Astonishingly,” Dunne continued, “we have not built a drinking water reservoir since 1991 despite our population increasing by ten million in the decades since.”
With the National Infrastructure Commission
recommending the construction of 30 more reservoirs and new pipelines to move water supplies around the country and ensure water security in the coming decades, Dunne added that: “we can’t delay”. “We continue to have our fields concreted over by housing without any proper consideration to infrastructure, including our increasingly scarce water supply. Were one to be proposed in my constituency,” Tracey Crouch added, “I’d happily support any planning application for a reservoir instead of housing development any day of the week.”
Bali Statement The final version of the International Hydropower
Association’s Bali Statement on Powering Sustainable Growth will be unveiled at the conclusion of the 2023 World Hydropower Congress in Bali during November 2023. The draft version of this landmark document, which builds upon the San José Declaration on Sustainable Hydropower established in 2021, emphasises the crucial role of hydropower in fostering thriving, low
carbon economies driven by renewable energy and outlines the following ten ways hydropower enables sustainable growth: 1. Long-lasting, low carbon electricity generation. 2. Management of water resources 3. Grid balance through flexibility and dispatchability. 4. Synergy with other renewables. 5. Green job creation. 6. Economic development in local/rural communities. 7. Decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries. 8. Climate mitigation and resilience. 9. Affordability
10.Sustainability. At the current rate of hydropower development, the Bali statement says that industrial growth in developing regions will rely on the continued production of fossil fuels, and global climate targets will not be met. However, governments and financial institutions are encouraged to work together with the hydropower sector to accelerate progress through three key actions: 1. Incentivise sustainable hydropower development through financial and market mechanisms. To meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals investment in hydropower needs to double to US$100 billion a year but cannot happen without appropriate market frameworks to incentivise new investment.
2. Accelerate the development of renewables through streamlined permitting and licensing. Hydropower planning and approval processes typically take more than five years before a project can even begin construction. Meanwhile, the default option is often to fall back on fossil fuels. The massive deployment of renewables needed to meet global climate goals through sustainable development should be accelerated by streamlining these processes wherever possible.
3. Embed hydropower sustainability practices in government regulation. Accelerating development does not mean cutting corners. Application of the Hydropower Sustainability Standard, built and governed through multi- stakeholder consensus, should be integrated into regulatory frameworks to maximise the benefits of projects and mitigate any negative impacts.
References
How Integrating Conduit Hydropower Into Water Management Facilities Can Help Meet Energy Demand by Shaun Sparks, Legal Counsel, Commissioner Yanora’s Office – Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. NHA Powerhouse. September 5, 2023. www.hydro. org/powerhouse/article/ how-integrating-conduit- hydropower-into-water- management-facilities-can- help-meet-energy-demand
New Government Regulations Could Impact Hydropower. Upcoming RAPID Updates Will Explain How Changes to Definition of U.S. Waters and Environmental Reviews Might Affect Future Hydropower Projects By Caitlin McDermott-Murphy. NREL. Aug. 4, 2023.
www.nrel. gov/news/program/2023/ new-government-regulations- could-impact-hydropower. html?utm_medium=email &utm_source=rasa_io&utm_ campaign=newsletter
https://openei.org/wiki/RAPID
https://waterpowercanada.ca/ wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ WPC-Hydropower-Grid- Services_Final_EN.pdf
www.express.co.uk/ news/politics/1781056/ tory-mp-water-security- climate-change-reservoir? fbclid=IwAR3Z-0JivKpiNI2z Q7GcUzAQkYi3iJW8rHR-GQ SAYH8xn_GCWnPetMg9gyY
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