Latest news with #InternationalHydropowerAssociation
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Africa Doubles New Hydropower Capacity as Funding Risks Remain
Africa doubled new hydropower capacity last year, adding 4.5 gigawatts of generation from the technology even as funding challenges limit faster growth. Tanzania's Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project was the biggest addition on the continent with capacity of 2,115 megawatts — outranked only by facilities in China globally, according to a report published by the International Hydropower Association on Wednesday. Ethiopia followed Tanzania with 1,200 megawatts starting at its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the lobby group said.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
China added 14.4 GW new hydropower capacity in 2024; pumped storage capacity at 58.69 GW: IHA
New Delhi: China added 14.4 gigawatts (GW) of new hydropower capacity in 2024, including 7.75 GW of pumped storage hydropower (PSH), taking its total installed hydropower capacity to 435.95 GW, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) said in its 2025 World Hydropower Outlook. The report said China's total pumped storage capacity stood at 58.69 GW at the end of 2024. With more than 200 GW of PSH either under construction or approved, the country is expected to exceed its 2030 pumped storage target of 120 GW and may reach 130 GW before the end of the decade. The East Asia and Pacific region added 14.6 GW of hydropower capacity in 2024, taking total capacity to 576.5 GW. Of this, 7,750 MW came from pumped storage, raising the regional PSH total to 98.4 GW. In Southeast Asia, Laos continues to expand cross-border hydroelectricity exports to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The report said Singapore is also seeking to increase hydropower imports through regional collaboration. In Thailand, the Electricity Generating Authority commissioned a 24 MW floating solar PV system at the Ubol Ratana Dam in 2024. Malaysia and Indonesia are also exploring the hybridisation of hydropower projects with solar power. The report stated that despite strong momentum, several countries in the region are facing challenges. Delays in permitting and environmental approvals, land rights issues, and lack of financial mechanisms to support capacity markets are slowing project development in Australia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The IHA said these hurdles are constraining private investment and delaying grid infrastructure upgrades that are required to accommodate new hydropower generation and storage. The report highlighted that pumped storage is gaining prominence globally due to rising demand for grid flexibility . 'This year's World Hydropower Outlook shows that global new capacity is accelerating after several years of stagnation,' IHA President Malcolm Turnbull said. IHA Chief Executive Eddie Rich said, 'As the renewable energy market continues to grow, the story of this year's Outlook is clearly that pumped storage hydropower is at the forefront as the world looks to more energy storage.' The report called for greater policy clarity, faster permitting, and the creation of new market mechanisms to value hydropower's capacity and flexibility services. It noted that these steps would be essential to ensure hydropower contributes effectively to the energy transition.
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
China on track to exceed 2030 pumped storage hydro target by 8%, industry body says
SINGAPORE, June 25 (Reuters) - China is set to exceed its 2030 pumped storage hydropower target by more than 8% and potentially reach 130 gigawatts (GW) by the end of the decade, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) said on Wednesday. The world's second-largest economy added 7.75 GW of pumped hydro in 2024, bringing its total installed pumped hydro capacity to 58.69 GW, the IHA said in a statement. More than 200 GW of such projects are under construction, it added, accounting for a third of all such projects under development globally. China has called for even more investment in the development of energy storage, which is critical to help balance supply and demand when wind and solar farms produce too much or too little renewable electricity for the grid's distribution system to be able to handle. The country broke its own records for new wind and solar power installations again last year, hitting its 2030 target for those six years ahead of schedule. The government's disincentivisation of electricity use during peak demand times by raising prices has given storage providers including pumped hydro operators more chance to profit by selling stored power when they can charge more. Global hydropower capacity grew by 24.6 GW in 2024, including 16.2 GW of conventional hydropower and 8.4 GW of pumped hydro, the IHA said, adding that 475 GW of conventional projects are in various stages of development. "This year's world hydropower outlook shows that global new capacity is accelerating after several years of stagnation," IHA said in the statement. Despite the momentum, hydropower projects in the East Asia and Pacific region outside China face financing constraints, high upfront costs and long payback periods, limiting private sector involvement, the IHA said. "Regulatory and permitting delays are also hampering progress in countries such as Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam, where complex approval processes, land rights issues and environmental assessments create uncertainty," the IHA added.
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China ‘dominates' global hydropower development amid energy storage push: report
China continued to play a dominant role in global hydropower development in 2024, accounting for the vast majority of Asia's newly added capacity as it invests heavily in energy storage solutions , according to a new report. The country was responsible for 14.4 gigawatts of the 24.6GW of new hydropower capacity that came online globally last year, as it bets big on the energy source as an effective way to maintain a stable grid amid the green transition. More than half of the hydropower capacity China added last year came in the form of pumped storage hydropower (PSH) projects, which store massive amounts of water in reservoirs that can then be released when an electricity grid is running low on power, according to the International Hydropower Association study released on Wednesday. The energy storage technology is becoming increasingly popular around the world, with governments searching for ways to cope with large fluctuations in solar and wind energy without resorting to fossil fuels. China has doubled down on its dam-building spree since 2020, when Beijing set a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. 'With more than 200GW of PSH projects under construction or approved, China is on track to exceed its 2030 target of 120GW, potentially reaching 130GW by the end of the decade,' the study said. China currently has nearly 436GW of installed hydropower capacity, which represents more than three-quarters of Asia's total capacity, according to the report.
Forbes
17-04-2025
- General
- Forbes
Data Analysis Of Hydropower Dams Shows They Are Dangerously Outdated
According to the International Hydropower Association, people have been consciously using the power of water since at least the Han Dynasty, somewhere between 202 BCE and 9 AD. Water wheels powered trip hammers that were used for paper making, breaking ore, and to process grain. By the 1800s, various designs continued to improve upon each other, and by the 1880s people were generating electricity. It was an interesting and noteworthy progression in Victorian technology. We don't need to keep using this outdated and dangerous method of power generation any longer. The Banqiao Dam Disaster of 1975, in China, was the single most devastating dam failure event, with at least 26,000 killed immediately and more than 200,000 people killed in total. The 1889 dam disaster that affected Johnstown, Pennsylvania was the largest civilian loss of American life until 9/11. The flood killed more than 2,200 steel workers and their families. We don't need to live with these risks any longer. For electricity generation, better options exist. For flood mitigation and water retention, technology has evolved, and research now shows that the deforestation needed for hydropower construction directly worsens these problems. People commonly think that dams help water security but, in reality, dams directly cause deforestation which, in turn, destroys the source of water. Cutting down the forest inside the dam reservoirs is, in fact, jeopardizing electricity generation. The tropical rainforest and the 'flying rivers' they create are crucial for our climate to function correctly. The rainforests are not just a product of rainfall, but a source. Projections show that likely rates of deforestation will decrease precipitation by 50% in the Congo, and about 40% in the Amazon. In the Cardamom rainforest, the presence of the dense canopy provides 3,500 to 4,000 mm of rain per year, the highest rainfall in the region. Studies of dams in Brazil show that deforestation caused by the dams reduce their potential for power generation by up to 10%, which while sounding modest, means for one plant, lost revenue of $21 million. This is representative of the trend. Accumulated Losses in Energy Generation and Associated Revenue for Salto, Salto do Rio Verdinho, and ... More São Domingos HPPs, 2002-2022 Tree roots and fungi guide rainwater down to the water tables and create the headwaters for the rivers. Without these trees and their root system, the process of desertification will start to occur. Nexus between Deforestation and Energy Generation Loss Rainforests help a region stay supplied with water. This deforestation may seem like a local issue, but the costs are not felt only by the dam owners. While they will directly incur financial losses, we will all suffer from the growing water insecurity. We need to stop deforestation. Dams cause deforestation, and destroy a region's natural water cycle. People think dams contribute to water security but, in fact, make the situation worse. Evaluations conducted over the last 30 years disprove the old notions that building a big pool of water will keep the water in reserve. We now know that it is much more complicated than that. What seems to be only a local issue, in fact has global consequences. Trees regulate the rain and water supply and have a huge impact on global air currents, thus modifying rainfall patterns across the entire globe. For example, there's a direct link between deforestation in the Amazon and the reduction of rainfall in the United States, and deforestation of the Congo Basin has a direct impact on reduction of rainfall in Europe (Duke research). Impact of projected future forest loss on annual mean precipitation For electricity generation, water security, or for financial returns, dams are a bad investment. For short-term gain or long-term security, dams will cost more than they provide. Any person, corporation, or society that wants to build a large hydropower project would do better to compare and consider other options.
