Hydropower surges to record year of output

Along with other clean energy records set in 2017, hydropower power enjoyed a record year last year, with 4,185 TWh in electricity generated from the source – preventing up to 4bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – according to the 2018 Hydropower Status Report.

The worldwide installed capacity of hydropower plants rose to 1,267 GW in 2017, according to the report from the International Hydropower Association (IHA). Around 22 GW of capacity was added in 2017, including 3.2 GW of pumped storage, bringing the total pumped storage capacity to 153 GW.

The fastest growth in hydropower took place in East Asia and the Pacific, which added 10 GW of capacity, followed by South America (4 GW), South and Central Asia (3.3 GW), Europe and Africa (2 GW) and North and Central America with 0.5 GW each.

On a country level, China cemented its status as the world’s largest producer of hydroelectric power, accounting for nearly half of global added capacity at 9 GW, followed by Brazil (3.4 GW), India (2 GW), Portugal (1 GW) and Angola (1 GW).

Also highlighted in the report are findings from a study of the greenhouse gas footprint of 500 large hydropower reservoirs. Using a new tool to measure net emissions, the research estimated hydropower’s median emissions at 18.5 gCO2/kWh.

The future outlook for hydropower also looks buoyant, says the IHA, as a 58% of surveyed hydropower decisionmakers and professionals expect to expand their company's installed capacity in the next three years, while 52% of respondents expect to increase investments in hydropower over the next three years.

The report, now in its fifth edition, was launched by Richard Taylor, Chief Executive of IHA, at the Beijing Forum on Hydropower and Future Energy Systems.

Taylor said: ‘Hydropower offers storage services which support growth in other renewables such as wind and solar, as well as water management and protection from floods and drought.’

He added: ‘In many countries around the world, however, the alternative to hydropower for electricity generation is coal, which means higher emissions and dangerous levels of pollution.’

The report also features articles by energy ministers from around the world, including Australia’s Minister for the Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenburg, who writes about Australia’s commitment to new pumped hydropower projects, including the 2,000 MW Snowy 2.0 Scheme, the ‘largest energy storage project in the southern hemisphere’.