The Public's Perception of Run-of-the-river Hydropower across Europe

Publication: Article
Citation: Venus, T., Hinzmann, M., Bakken, T., Gerdes, H., Godinho, F., Hansen, B., Pinheiro, A. and Sauer, J., 2020: The public's perception of run-of-the-river hydropower across Europe. Energy Policy, 140, p.111422.

In the European Union, hydropower represents an important component of a renewable energy transition, in part due to its existing infrastructure. A large share of future European hydropower projects will be run-of-the-river schemes. To understand the potential for RoR hydropower development and modernization of the technology as an opportunity for sustainable decentralization, this report uses the Q-methodology to compare public values about RoR hydropower in German, Portuguese and Swedish case studies.

Four perspectives on the importance of RoR hydropower emerged from this analysis:

maintain regional control,
fight climate change,
promote citizen well-being and
protect natural ecosystems.

Strong preferences for regional control imply RoR should be managed as distributed generation rather than viewed as part of a centralized, national system like traditional large-scale reservoir hydropower. Based on the importance of citizen well-being and ecological measures, operators could adopt strategies such as river widening and the reconstruction of secondary channels, which help control floods, create recreational opportunities as well as enhance ecological habilitation and biodiversity. Additionally, policymakers could support rigorous monitoring programs to assess the ecological impact of RoR.

The article, to which Mandy Hinzmann and Holger Gerdes from Ecologic Institute contributed essential parts, is available for download [pdf, 1.16 MB, English].

Run-of-the-river (RoR) hydropower represents an opportunity for sustainable decentralization and co-production

Policy Framework for Hydropower Mitigation

Year 2022

Publication:Book Section

red cover of the Springer book "Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower"

This chapter provides an overview of public perception of hydropower projects, describes methods for studying public acceptance and presents an application of the Q-methodology in four Europe case studies from hydropower-intensive regions. The chapter, written by Mandy Hinzmann, Holger Gerdes (both Ecologic Institute) and Terese E. Venus is available for download.

Public Acceptance of Hydropower

Year 2022

Publication:Book

This open access book presents (selected) new and innovative developments for sustainable and fish-friendly hydropower. It offers unique insights into the challenges, practices and policies of hydropower developments across 8 European countries, providing examples from on-site studies and European-wide analyses. The case studies throughout the book are practical "real-world" examples, which are intended to serve as inspiration for anyone who would like to know more about how solutions for more sustainable hydropower production can be designed and implemented. The book was co-edited by Ecologic Institute's Dr. Eleftheria Kampa. Authors of the Ecologic Institute contributed to the chapters on "Policy Framework for Hydropower Mitigation" and "Public Acceptance of Hydropower."

Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower

Year 2022

Event:Conference

The final online conference of the FIThydro project brought together over 280 participants from across the globe to explore the latest research developments on the topic of sustainable and fish friendly hydropower showcasing the final project’s results in addition to presentations by experts from outside the project on related topics. The online conference was hosted by Ecologic Institute and the Technical University of Munich.

International Conference on Fishfriendly Hydropower

17 - 18 March 2021
online

Publication:Policy Brief

This FIThydro Brief, written by Ecologic Institute's Hugh McDonald and Gerardo Anzaldúa, assesses the current and future demand for fish-friendly hydropower in Europe. It concludes that EU and national policy and economic developments offer a chance to innovate and address rising social and environmental concerns about hydropower's negative impacts.

Scoping the Market for Fish-friendly Hydropower Technologies: Recent developments, future expectations

FIThydro Market Conditions Brief

Year 2020

News

In the Europe-wide FIThydro project, Ecologic Institute worked with research and industry partners to study existing hydroelectric power plants. Together the project partners developed new assessment methods and technologies such as a fish population hazard index, simulations for fish migration and an open-access decision support tool for hydropower planning. The goal: making hydropower more fish-friendly and environmentally sustainable. All project results are made available online.

Towards More Fish-friendly Hydropower Production

EU project "FIThydro" studies environmental impacts of hydroelectric power plants

6 November 2020

Publication:Policy Brief

The FIThydro Policy Brief presents summaries of selected key outputs from the H2020 FIThydro project, which are relevant for policy makers, managers and operators involved in the commissioning and operation of hydropower plants.

Fish-friendly Innovative Technologies for Hydropower

Key outputs from the FIThydro project

Year 2020

Event:Workshop

The European Stakeholder Workshop on Fish-friendly Hydropower will be held on 28 and 29 January 2020 in Brussels (Belgium). This event will serve as a platform for consultation and exchange between FIThydro scientists, policy-makers and technical experts working on the assessment of impacts from hydropower plants and the planning of mitigation measures.

FIThydro – European Stakeholder Workshop

28 - 29 January 2020
Brussels, Belgium

Publication:Article

Hydropower now accounts for 18% of electricity generated across Europe and 70% of renewable energy. Most of Europe's hydropower plants have been in operation for several decades. They are therefore about to be renovated, modernized and expanded. Only recently has the emphasis been placed on the protection of fish. European countries must adhere to the Water Framework Directive, which calls for environmentally friendly, socially acceptable and economically viable hydropower. The FIThydro project deals with this topic and wrote an article. Eleftheria Kampa from Ecologic Institute contributed to this article. It is available for download.

Le projet FIThydro: Une initiative européenne pour une hydroélectricité durable et respectueuse des poissons

Year 2018

Language: English
Authorship: Holger Gerdes

Mandy Hinzmann

Terese E. Venus (Technical University of Munich)

Tor Haakon Bakken (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, SINTEF Energy Research)

Francisco Nunes Godinho (Hidroerg)

Bendik Hansen (SINTEF Energy Research)

António Pinheiro (CERIS – Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability)

Johannes Sauer (Technical University of Munich)
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International
Published in: Energy Policy Volume 140, May 2020, 111422
Published by: Elsevier, International
Year: 2020
Dimension: 11 S.
ISSN: 0301-4215
DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111422
Project: Fish Friendly Innovative Technologies for Hydropower (FIThydro)
Project ID: 2806
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

Highlights
Abstract
Keywords
1. Introduction
2. Run-of-the-river (RoR) hydropower in Europe: Development, governance and instruments
3. Research methodology
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion and policy implications
Author contribution statement
Declaration of competing interest
Acknowledgements
References
Keywords: Biodiversity

Coastal + Marine

Energy

EU

Foreign Policy

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Water

Run-of-the-river hydropower, energy policy, public perception, decentralization, local stakeholders, public acceptance, decentralized generation

Europe, Germany, Sweden, Portugal

Q-methodology

Further Links

Project website FIThydro

ProjectHorizon 2020Fish Friendly Innovative Technologies for Hydropower (FIThydro)

Hydropower plants can offer a reliable and clean source of energy. However, these installations can often pose difficult challenges for the surrounding environment, particularly the fish species living in the rivers. FIThydro (Fishfriendly Innovative Technologies for... Read more

Fish Friendly Innovative Technologies for Hydropower (FIThydro)

Duration: Nov 2016 - Mar 2021
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International

PublicationBrochureKnowledge, Assessment, and Management for AQUAtic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services aCROSS EU Policies – Brochure

AQUACROSS consortium 2016: Knowledge, Assessment, and Management for AQUAtic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services aCROSS EU policies. Brochure. ... Read more

AQUACROSS consortium 2016: Knowledge, Assessment, and Management for AQUAtic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services aCROSS EU policies. Brochure. The publication is available in German, English, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and Swedish.

PresentationSpeechGreen Hydropower in Switzerland

At the First EPI-Water Conference in Berlin, Manuel Lago, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on green hydropower in Switzerland. The presentation is available for download.The EPI-WATER Project sets to assess the effectiveness and the efficiency... Read more

Speech:Green Hydropower in Switzerland

Date: 26 January 2012
Location: Berlin, Germany

ProjectFP 7Evaluating Economic Policy Instruments for Sustainable Water Management in Europe (EPI-Water)

The EPI-Water project aims to assess the effectiveness and the efficiency of Economic Policy Instruments in achieving water policy goals and to identify the preconditions under which they complement or perform better than alternative (e.g., regulatory or voluntary)... Read more

Evaluating Economic Policy Instruments for Sustainable Water Management in Europe (EPI-Water)

Duration: Jan 2011 - Dec 2013
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International

PublicationReportEvaluating Economic Policy Instruments for Sustainable Water Management in Europe

The EPI-Water project aims to understand how Economic Policy Instruments (EPIs) succeed or fail in directing water resources to uses that reflect social value and priorities. The project, which runs from January 2011 to December 2013, uses a multi-faceted Assessment... Read more

Zetland, David; Hans-Peter Weikard; Gonzalo Delacamra et al. 2012: Evaluating Economic Policy Instruments for Sustainable Water Management in Europe: Review of the Assessment Framework and Toolbox. Ecologic Institute.