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Hydropower Reform Coalition

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Advocates for river protection and restoration at individual, privately-owned ... More than 140 local, regional and national outdoor ... Hydrokinetics ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Hydropower Reform Coalition


1
Hydropower Reform Coalition
  • Hydropower Reform Coalition Western Caucus
    Meeting
  • Oakland, CA
  • March 10/11, 2008
  • Richard J. Bowers

2
Hydropower Reform Coalition
  • Advocates for river protection and restoration at
    individual, privately-owned hydropower dams
    regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory
    Commission (FERC)
  • More than 140 local, regional and national
    outdoor recreation and conservation organizations
    that have effectively reduced the footprint of
    hydropower dams on rivers.

3
HRC Steering Committee
Alabama Rivers AllianceWater Is Life
4
Presentation Overview
  • Perspectives on hydropower and watersheds
  • Hydropower as clean and renewable energy source
  • Economics of hydropower in a changing environment
  • New technologies
  • Hydropower in a warmer world

5
Perspectives on Hydropower
  • The view from a river advocacy position
  • More than one million fishermen, paddlers,
    birding enthusiasts, and environmental interests
    who are concerned with, and inspired by, rivers

6
What is clean energy?
  • Clean energy is any energy that causes little or
    no harm to the environment. Wind energy, solar
    energy (in all its forms--photovoltaic,
    geothermal, solar thermal, etc.), hydrogen and
    fuel cells, wave and tidal energy, and biomass
    are all examples of clean energy.
  • What weve learned from history is that no known
    energy source is 100 clean

7
Conventional Hydropower asRenewable Energy
  • Water is renewable, abundant, reliable,
    affordable, sustainable
  • Low carbon-emissions
  • Potential of new technologies
  • Grid support for wind, solar, other

8
Hydropower Impacts on Rivers Watersheds
  • Proven impacts on the function and resiliency of
    natural systems
  • Fragmenting free-flowing freshwater systems
  • Blocking the flow of nutrients and sediments
  • Blocking fish movement
  • Destroying stream-side habitat
  • Slowing and overheating the river upstream of the
    dam
  • Reducing flows downstream
  • Destruction of native fish populations
  • Altering and reducing flows in formerly wild
    rivers.

9
Economics of Dams
  • Most of the sites that are environmentally and
    economically acceptable have been developed
  • In a green economy, economic value must include
    the value and function that natural environments
    provide free of charge.
  • As a mature technology, hydropower does not
    provide new and innovative solutions, new
    investment and science, or job creation
  • Expected changes in the future will affect the
    value of hydropower

10
Small Hydro Projects
  • When you remove the few remaining sites for new
    dams that make environmental and economic sense,
    you are left almost exclusively with small scale
    hydro. Small hydro has all of the impacts of a
    large dam on a river or watershed, with little of
    the economic or power production values.
  • Small hydro Small gain for huge costs!

11
What we support
  • Water conservation
  • Keeping water in river
  • Keeping water clean and healthy
  • Protecting species
  • Appropriately sited, operated and mitigated
    hydropower
  • Hydropower that is supportive of natural systems
  • Increased efficiency at existing dams
  • Opportunities to increase hydropower at non-power
    dams

12
Over 500 Small Hydro Projects Proposed in British
Columbia
13
Hydrokinetics
  • Innovative hydropower projects that use the
    forces of currents, waves, and tides to generate
    clean, renewable electric energy.
  • Estimates are that the new hydrokinetic
    technologies, if fully developed, could double
    the amount of hydropower production in the United
    States, bringing it from just under 10 to close
    to 20 of the national supply.

14
Hydrokinetic Questions
  • Unknowns regarding the potential environmental
    effects of implementing new technologies in a new
    operating environment.
  • Given that the commission is proposing a process
    in which license applications would be reviewed,
    coordinated, and completed in the space of six
    months, there is a great risk of rushing into
    decisions that could result in significant
    unintended environmental impacts.
  • Potential impacts on commercial fishing,
    recreation and marine protection areas.
  • Cumulative Impacts

15
FERC Process for Licensing Hydrokinetic Projects
16
Recommendations to Reduce Impacts from a New
Technology
  • Identify appropriately sited renewable energy
    facilities
  • Recognize and protect sensitive species
  • Distinguish and avoid potential impacts to
    recreation and commercial interests
  • Address cumulative impacts
  • Complete state, regional and national planning
  • Guarantee effective and coordinated public and
    agency involvement
  • Include a requirement for project decommissioning
    and removal in cases where operation or
    installation results in significant adverse
    impacts

17
Climate Change
  • Healthy Rivers are resilient they are more
    likely to cope successfully with climate
    disruption.
  • Hydropower and healthy river ecosystems both
    depend on flowing water. It is now beyond
    dispute that climate change disruption will have
    physical effects on water availability which
    result in important changes to the timing,
    quantity and quality of river flows.
  • For hydropower production, some of the effects
    and policy responses to climate disruption shift
    the quantity of power produced, others affect the
    value.

18
Hydropower in a Warmer World
  • Reduced or increased quantity of power due to
    river flow
  • Shifts in seasonal generation
  • Flood control spills
  • Conflicts with other water users
  • Snowpack Reduction
  • Increased extreme precipitation events
  • Increased evaporation and transpiration
  • Reduced Predictability
  • Changed water quality

19
Parallel ImpactsHydropower Climate Change
  • Both destroy resiliency by disturbing habitats
    and altering the hydrological fluvial regimes
    within a watershed
  • Both change the timing volume of flows
  • Both increase water temperature
  • Both decrease water quality quantity
  • Both reduce fish migration
  • Both cause species extinction

20
Hydropower Economics Potential in a Warmer World
  • Limited availability of environmentally and
    economically acceptable sites
  • No investment in new technologies or job creation
  • Needed investment to offset history of natural
    systems impact
  • offsetting damage to natural systems
  • Time needed to site, apply, approve and mitigate
    new dam construction

21
Recommendations for Hydropower in a Warmer World
  • Water conservation and efficiency
  • Operate and equip existing hydropower to protect
    rivers
  • New Hydropower Not new dams
  • Encourage non-conventional hydropower with care
  • Coordinate multiple projects on a river
  • Decommission and remove hydropower dams where the
    benefits are compelling

22
HRC Pacific Northwest Members
  • Advocates for the West (ID)
  • Alaskan Center for the Environment (AK)
  • Alaskan Fly fishers (AK)
  • Alder Creek Canoe Kayak (OR)
  • American Rivers
  • American Whitewater
  • Bear River Watershed Council (ID)
  • Cascadia Wildlands Project (OR)
  • Center for Justice (WA)
  • Columbia Riverkeeper (WA)
  • Conservation Northwest (WA)
  • Federation of Fly Fishers (MT)
  • Fish for Cooper Creek Coalition (AK)
  • Friends of Living Oregon Waters (OR)
  • Gifford Pinchot Task Force (OR)
  • Greater Yellowstone Coalition (MT)
  • Hells Canyon Preservation Council (OR)
  • Idaho Rivers United (ID)
  • Idaho Whitewater Association (ID)
  • Montana River Action Network (MT)
  • North Umpqua Foundation (OR)
  • NW Resources Information Center (ID)
  • Oregon Trout (OR)
  • Oregon Wild (OR)
  • Selkirk Conservation Alliance (ID)
  • Steelhead Trout Club of Washington (WA)
  • The Lands Council (WA)
  • The Mountaineers (WA)
  • The Steamboaters (OR)
  • Trout Unlimited
  • Umpqua Valley Audubon Society (OR)
  • Umpqua Watersheds (OR)
  • Utah Rivers Council (UT)
  • Washington Kayak Club (WA)
  • Water Watch of Oregon (OR)

23
www.hydroreform.org
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