Europes Hydro Electric Power

By:  Timothy Dennis

Hydropower retains its dominant presence in renewable power generation across Europe, but there is increasing concern about the impact of climate change on the European energy system as a whole. Adaptation and resilience will be key to future hydropower production in the face of more frequent and extreme weather events. Suzanne Pritchard reports

For two years running, renewable energy has produced more power than fossil fuels throughout Europe in the second quarter of the year. Accounting for 44.4% of all renewable generation, the largest contribution came from hydropower plants and, according to EnAppSys’ recent European electricity analysis, hydro looks set to remain the dominant renewable fuel source in Europe for the foreseeable future

During Q2 2019, European hydro generated 109.2TWh, which was down 14% for the same period of 2018 - was a key factor in the overall 3% decline in renewable generation. Looking at the full picture, hydropower ranked second behind nuclear plants which generated 28.2% of total power. Hydro contributed 17.5%, gas and coal/ignite were third (17.0% and 14.7% respectively), followed by wind (11.5%), solar (6.5%), then biomass, oil, waste and peat

Recent analysis by the European Environment Agency (EEA) suggests that climate change is already putting pressure on Europe’s energy system. In a new report published in June 2019, EEA states that all parts of the European energy system, from availability of energy sources to consumption, are potentially vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events.

Small Picture Of Europes Hydropower

• In Sweden - hydropower generation represents 40% of total share of electricity and 73% of renewables. The originally proposed WFD mitigation measures could have decreased annual hydropower generation by 15-20% and affected flexibility of hydropower significantly.
• In Austria - hydropower (including pumped storage) represents more than two-thirds of overall electricity generation, of which 23% are highly valuable peak loading to help integrate other renewables. In the first implementation period, more than 130 WFD mitigation measures have been completed with a total investment of nearly 190M Euros, leading to yearly generation losses equalling the energy consumption of 45,000 households.
• In Spain - hydropower represents 12% of the total share of electricity and around 40% of renewables. The WFD mitigation measures could have decreased annual hydropower generation by 3%. In Italy - hydropower represents 15-20% of total electricity and around 45% of renewables. Proposed mitigation measures could have led to a 10% reduction.