I was forced during the 1990's to abandon some 15 small
hydro projects in various stages of the permitting process at a loss of $ millions.
About half of that is wind energy, and the rest is comprised of
small hydro projects, biomass, and solar.
Large hydro projects are projected to generate 2 billion carbon credits by 2020, which could be a lot of hot air.
That mix would include
smaller hydro projects and other renewables, such as wind, solar and waste, but also thermal power generation from natural gas, fuel oil and coal.
New storage projects are in the news all over, including a 10 - MW battery coupled to a Southern California Edison gas turbine; a multi-kilowatt flywheel that will store four hours of power for Hawaiian Electric; and a proposed 393 - MW
pumped hydro project in southern Oregon's Klamath basin that faces opposition from local tribes.
Most recently, Aegon committed $ 50 million to Climate Investor One, a climate initiative which finances solar, wind, and run - of -
river hydro projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Those benefits also come from new renewable energy projects, like SolarReserve's solar thermal project at Port Augusta, Neoen's wind plus battery project at Jamestown, Sanjeev Gupta's solar and pumped
hydro projects at Whyalla, and numerous other climate - safe projects all over Australia.
Combined with an ambitious solar and geothermal expansion, along with
new hydro projects in the pipeline, this would total 7.5 million megawatts of renewable generating capacity, enabling us to back out all of the coal and oil and most of the natural gas now used to generate electricity.
Whereas hydropower used to provide the bulk of Kenya's power ongoing droughts have led investors to pull out
of hydro projects; power rationing and epic blackouts are common.
«Christy Clark's government continues to prove their failure to perform on
major hydro projects,» said Dix.
The mini
hydro project also creates electricity at affordable prices to power farm machinery and improve communication with the addition of radios and television sets.
Clark's shakedown effort is reminiscent of the manner in which Quebec, nearly 50 years ago, used its geographic leverage to extort Newfoundland's Churchill Falls
hydro project into selling it electricity at an enormous discount.
After the 50MW Stage 1 solar farm was switched on late last year, the Kidston renewable energy hub has now received a development approval for 270MW of solar, which is to be co-located with a 250MW pumped
storage hydro project.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has committed $ 1.4 billion to 26 wind, solar and
hydro projects across the state.
Large hydropower projects added a net 19 GW to the world's generation capacity last year; small
hydro projects added just under 3 GW net.
Hydropower's stock is also set to rise thanks to the multiple
roles hydro projects can fulfil, particularly in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Nearby Quebec, for instance, produces nearly 40,000 megawatts of hydroelectric power, and is seeking to build an additional 2,600 megawatts in
hydro projects within the decade.
We've developed wind, solar, biomass, and
hydro projects around the globe in the communities and regions that play a key strategic role in our clients» businesses.
In the future,
many hydro projects could be redirected to acting as large scale batteries for grids.
Steindorf has been working with an analyst at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory for more than a year to identify
Western hydro projects that might soon be on the chopping block due to economic pressures.
The
ongoing hydro projects Madhu Ganga and Kali Ganga (2 MW each) are also facing problem due to the regular land slide in the area.
The objective of the
Paraíso hydro project is to yield the power potential of the Paraíso River to generate electricity.
Along with speeding up permits on public lands, the administration also wants to expedite permitting for
incremental hydro projects on existing dams.
The Tungu - Kabri
micro hydro project in Kenya (pictured at left), by Practical Action is a good example of these sort of projects.
«It would incentivize the [resource] development,» he says, including building mines,
developing hydro projects and granting timber licences.
When I was writing a book, in 1990 on the Cree and Inuit resistance to a second major
Quebec hydro project, this one to be on the Great Whale River, I was told that their Grand Council then had 11 cases before the Courts.
The dam is one of several
large hydro projects being built on tributaries of the Amazon River that are expected to damage pristine regions.
a run of
river hydro project, upholding its water license before the Environmental Appeal Board;
To get the province to give ground, Ottawa initially tried tying a billion - dollar federal loan guarantee for the Muskrat
Falls hydro project to a change in the fish - processing rules.
Although a climate - resilient approach is factored into the designs
of hydro projects, China is still likely to suffer from hydroelectric output decline, says Yang.
In a nation like Australia, with no effective energy policies coming from the federal governments, the long - term planning needed for new
pumped hydro projects has been sadly lacking.
Over the next year, the second - generation Sensor Fish is slated to evaluate three
small hydro projects in the U.S., a conventional hydroelectric dam in the U.S., irrigation structures in Australia and a dam on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia.
Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (INE / TSX) is much more focused
on hydro projects, with nearly all of its operations in Canada.
This town of over 300 community members has a strong ecosystem based economy, and history of clean energy, having installed their first small, community owned run - of - river
hydro project in 1981.
(Durfy stepped down for personal reasons in 2010 and now serves as president of Northland Power, a developer of natural gas, wind and
hydro projects.)
«Northeast B.C. and it's wildlife have been hammered by coal mines,
hydro projects, decades of clearcut logging and thousands of gas well sites,» said Coste.
For instance, «
hydro projects are one of the main drivers of deforestation in the Amazon by opening up previously unexplored areas,» she said.
«In the future, the importance of
hydro projects won't be on power generation, but on water management,» Yang explained.
Is the «business as usual» approach — subsidizing fossil - fuel supply and nuclear energy and large
hydro projects, maintaining low energy prices to consumers by keeping environmental and political costs «external,» propping up oil supply by every available means — part of the solution or part of the problem?
Are changes in landscapes and ecosystems (deforestation, for example) putting
our hydro projects at grater risks?