Open Letter to Policymakers: Contribution of Small-Scale Hydroelectricity Dams to the Renewable Energy Landscape
This post is Part 1 of a two-part blog series of student and organizer reactions and takeaways from the March 2021 Tufts Energy Conference.
By Jess Savage
To esteemed policymakers,
Hydropower is a global renewable energy resource. Its ubiquity and historic development alongside that of humankind—the first use of water wheels more than 2,000 years ago to grind wheat into flour—has secured its place as an amazing technological feat. In the face of a changing climate, hydroelectric energy has a role to play in rounding out the global renewable energy landscape.
Bolstering ecological strengths globally will be a main tenet of protecting people and the planet from anthropogenic climate change. It is important to allow multiple outlets of survival in the era of climate disaster. Many conflicting objectives from stakeholders, while possibly inhibitory to the beginning of a hydro project, also provide multiple perspectives to understand hydroelectricity’s role in the future—every stakeholder will want something different, but the goal is to provide safe, regular, and just access to energy to every human without inflicting harmful or excessive damage to the ecological systems supporting humanity.
To move forward with hydropower, it is necessary to completely reimagine its role as an energy source. Moving away from mega-dams and towards local, independent, and innovative hydroelectricity projects will be one solution to combat a multitude of climate crises to come. Small scale, community-led energy projects are the future of energy because these projects can remain independent, sustainable, just, and adaptable. James Francis invented the Francis hydroelectric dam in 1849 in England. Over the course of the next half century, hydroelectricity expanded rapidly. By 1907, in the U.S. alone, hydroelectric power accounted for 15% of electrical generation in the country. Hydropower energy was common by the 1950s, and it was a source of economic growth and ushered in an increase in human welfare. Hydropower dams are a much smaller portion of the global energy sector, accounting for 6% of total Terawatt-hours as of 2019.The top three global energy sources, oil, coal, and gas, account for 31%, 25%, and 22% of total Terawatt-hours, respectively. In the United States, electricity from hydropower only accounts for 3% of total electricity generation. Tens of thousands of dams have become obsolete in recent years. Their age and propensity to structural damage, and consequent damage to the surrounding environment, is a dangerous reality.
If the ultimate goal of stakeholders is to create sustainable and just climate solutions, hydroelectricity must be reimagined as a small-scale and democratic energy project within the larger energy profile.
There are multiple misconceptions regarding hydropower electricity that the public and policymakers alike should know about. There are also notable benefits to consider when writing policy around these issues. It is naïve to consider hydropower as completely carbon emission-free. Illissa Ocko, Senior Climate Scientist and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), conducted a study in 2019 and showed that about 7 percent of 1,500 dams studied were actually emitting more greenhouse gases than coal power plants. Though no fossil fuel is burned to generate energy, the reservoirs that hold the water for hydroelectric dams emit carbon dioxide and methane, a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Many of these high-emission dams are located in countries that have robust plans for new hydroelectric dams in the coming years. India is one such country. Electricity from hydropower is projected to increase by 230% between 2015 and 2040, according to EDF. Even though hydroelectricity is technically renewable, some reservoirs actually cause more warming than coal power plants.
Dams also create conflicts between international river riparian states. In Southeast Asia, dammed rivers intersect many borders. While communities upstream could be benefitting from electricity thanks to the constructed dam, those communities downstream face reduced access to water and an infrequent reliable flooding season to provide nutrients to agricultural fields. A prominent example of this struggle is the ongoing construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a $74 billion project. The dam, if completed, could provide consistent electricity to 65 million Ethiopians. It could also greatly reduce access to water for Egypt, which currently qualifies as a water scarce country. The World Bank defines water scarcity in a country if there is less than 1,000 cubic meters of water available per person. Egypt currently has access to 550 cubic meters of water per person, even before the construction of the dam has completed.
Since it can be a great challenge to reach agreements between countries along the entire affected river, it would be beneficial to turn attentions to alternative forms of energy, such as solar and wind, that can be constructed within country borders and can largely avoid international conflict.
Imad Ahmed, UCL Faculty member, conducted a study in Zambia to understand whether hydropower resulted in demonstrably increased welfare. He found that though the country experienced economic growth, there was not a massive increase in individual welfare as a result of hydropower development. If hydropower is to have a future in the global energy landscape, it should be reimagined to accommodate a material increase in welfare, life expectancy, and universal access to reliable energy sources.
Small-scale hydroelectricity is providing a simple solution to new renewable energy mandates in Colorado. Eric Jacobson of Ouray, CO maintains a small hydroelectric dam which powers about 40 homes. He dreams of systems like his taking their place alongside wind and solar to bolster the renewable energy profiles of cities and towns around the globe. Johnson asserts there is so much opportunity in small-scale hydroelectricity to utilize the natural energy that surrounds all communities.
The cost to build a new dam is currently more than double the price tag of original dam construction investments from the early 1900s and new hydroelectric dam construction projects have decreased by 63% since 2013. Additionally, millions of dollars are spent annually to uphold existing dams. About 10,000 dams in the U.S. no longer serve any energy-related purpose because they are old and obsolete. By deconstructing them, the U.S. could open up miles of river and hope to reconcile some of the resulting ecological damage.
There is an overarching and ongoing challenge to match hydroelectric power generation at the site to the location of energy demand, so energy transmission must be factored into the equation. One proposed solution is the construction of power pools, which reduce the overall cost of low-carbon electric systems.
Ultimately, it will be a grave challenge to anticipate the climate conditions of the future. With an energy source as fixed geographically and structurally as hydropower, can it be relied upon to sustain global demand for energy even in the face of uncertainty and increased climate catastrophes?
Policymakers should pay attention to the nuances of hydropower—there is not one common solution locally or globally, and a deep attention to community members impacted by both the benefits and costs of hydropower should be central to the conversation.
While there are so many low-carbon alternatives, hydropower asserts its potential value as intermittent energy. Ultimately, it will be difficult to compete with ubiquity of solar and wind as cheap and abundant energy sources. Large scale hydropower is being scrutinized, while where is still so much room for innovative applications of hydropower at a smaller, local scale. Though this is not a concrete recommendation, I implore policymakers to decentralize profit from energy projects and fully center and prioritize people and planet. This will create the most just and sustainable future for hydropower.
Jess Savage is a Content Lead and Marketing Manager of the Tufts Energy Conference.