1. Wasserkraft und Ökologie: Ein gemeinsamer Weg
Sustainable Hydropower in the Danube River Basin: Bringing together renewable energy targets, water management and environmental objectives
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR)
Mr Peter Gammeltoft, ICPDR President 2017

2. Table of contents Danube River Basin
Sustainable Hydropower in the Danube River Basin
Legal Framework
Outlook and Impacts
Guiding Principles for Sustainable Hydropower Development
Outcome of ICPDR Hydropower Workshop March 2017
Summary and Conclusions

3. I. Danube River Basin 3

4. II. Sustainable Hydropower in the Danube River Basin
Danube Ministerial Mandate from 2010 to develop
„Assessment Report on Hydropower Generation” and
„Guiding Principles on Sustainable Hydropower Development in the Danube Basin“
Process launched in 2011 and led by Austria, Romania and Slovenia
Broad participative process: Involvement of administrations from Danube countries on energy and environment, hydropower sector and businesses, NGOs and scientists
Adopted in June 2013 4

5. Legal framework Ambitious EU legislation for energy + water
RES-e Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC
Objectives: To increase share of energy from renewable sources with target figures for 2020 for each state
States set national targets + decide on strategy; e.g. by targets for HP
WFD Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC
Objectives: To achieve good ecological status of water bodies
No deterioration of status
Without cross-sectoral dialogue both sectors are at risk to fail achieving the objectives and legal compliance! 5

6. Hydropower plants in the Danube River Basin (2012)
© Verbund
Majority of electricity generated by large hydropower
~ 300 large facilities (>10MW) generate ~ 90% of electricity from HP
> 8,000 small facilities (<10MW) generate ~ 10% of electricity from HP 6

7. Outlook: Increasing trends Outlook hydropower:
Intention to increase hydropower capacities by Danube countries
Main drivers:
To increase share of renewable energy
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and climate protection policies
Integration of other forms of renewable energy (wind, solar) 7

8. Impacts – why should we care?
Environmental protection and biodiversity conservation issues
Negative impacts of hydropower generation have led to rather negative reception of new projects by civil society and financial institutions  assess impacts in detail
Economic, social and environmental benefits can be maximised in case all benefits and impacts are considered from the very beginning
Significant investments needed to remediate negative impacts of existing facilities to meet requirements of EU environmental legislation - costs (much) higher compared to initial consideration
Legal compliance with existing legislation 8

9. Sustainable Hydropower in the Danube Basin
The process...
Establishment of interdisciplinary working group
Setting the scene – Hydropower Assessment Report
Learning from experiences in place – Good Practice Examples
Negotiation of Guiding Principles – Reaching consensus
Based on Assessment Report and Good Practice Examples
Principle of transparency and inclusiveness
Aspiration to reach consensus by all actors involved
Pre-condition for balanced document
Political will and support is crucial 9

10. III. Hydropower Guiding Principles
Set of general principles
Technical upgrading of existing hydropower plants combined with ecological restoration
Strategic planning approach for new hydropower based on two level assessment (regional + site specific)
Mitigation of negative ecological impacts 10

11. III. Hydropower Guiding Principles 1. General principles
Principle of sustainability
Holistic approach in energy policies, incl. energy efficiency gains
Consideration of plant size and capacities – taking cumulative impacts into account
Weighing public interests in decision making  hydropower is not automatically of overriding public interest just because it generates renewable energy
Consideration of climate change 11

12. Technical upgrading and ecological restoration
III. Hydropower Guiding Principles 2. Principles related to existing hydropower plants
Technical upgrading and ecological restoration
Need to reach WFD objectives – Good Ecological Status/Potential – Need for mitigation measures
Technical upgrading should be promoted to increase energy production from existing facilities
Should be linked to ecological criteria for improvement of the water status
Combination of technical upgrading with ecological restoration implies a win-win solution
Should be promoted by national energy strategies and instruments 12

13. III. Hydropower Guiding Principles 3
III. Hydropower Guiding Principles 3. Strategic planning approach for new hydropower development
Two level assessment –
The national/regional assessment classifying the appropriateness of river stretches for potential hydropower use
Identification of exclusion zones where hydropower development is forbidden by national or regional legislation/agreements
All other stretches to be assessed using an assessment matrix and classification scheme for hydroelectric potential as well as ecological and landscape value
Followed by the project specific assessment
More detailed and in-depth assessment of benefits and impacts
Project specific criteria
Energy management
Environment and water management
Socio-economic criteria 13

14. Strategic planning for new hydropower Two-level assessment
National/Regional level – „WHERE“?
Project-Specific Level – „HOW“? 14

15. Strategic planning for new hydropower Tool for assessing appropriate locations for new projects
Criteria-based assessment of river stretches (energy management, environment and landscape value)
Provides information on suitability of river stretches for new hydropower development 15

16. 4. Mitigation measures to make hydropower more sustainable
III. Hydropower Guiding Principles
4. Mitigation measures to make hydropower more sustainable
Fish migration aids for ensuring connectivity and access to habitats
Mitigating artificial flow fluctuations (hydropeaking)
Ensuring ecological flow requirements
+ other issues (such as sediment transport, improvement of lateral connectivity) 16

17. Ongoing developments
Guiding Principles were translated by Danube countries into Croatian, Czech, German and Slovak languages (additional languages such as Slovene are currently in progress)
Incorporation of ongoing process and first results in Danube River Basin Management Plan 2015
In general, the process of practical application is still at an early stage, also because of different relevance depending on the respective framework conditions
Experiences are already in place e.g. with regard to technical upgrading of existing plants, strategic planning approaches for new hydropower development and setting up of national stakeholder processes, application of mitigation measures
Call for application by intensified cooperation of relevant sectors and follow-up meetings in Danube Declaration 2016
ICPDR Hydropower Workshop bringing together water management and hydrowpower sector representatives took place in March 2017 17

18. IV. Outcomes of ICPDR Hydropower Workshop March 2017
Results of review of application of ICPDR Guiding Principles in Danube countries
Technical upgrading in place, often not linked with ecological restoration measures
Strategic planning approach often lacking ecological criteria
Classification scheme for river stretches appropriate for new hydropower missing in most of Danube countries
Mitigation measures (fish migration, ecological flow) mostly mandatory for new and existing hydropower projects
Reference to ICPDR Guiding Principles in national RBMPs and Water Management Plans 18

19. IV. Outcomes of ICPDR Hydropower Workshop March 2017
Main conclusions from discussions
Progress has been made in applying and promoting ICPDR Guiding Principles BUT still more needs to be done to bring knowledge and process at national/local authorities level
Strengthening of national implementation and legislation towards compliance with EU legislation needed
Bringing ICPDR Guiding Principles deeper to stakeholders and society to foster its application
Sharing experiences among Danube Countries needed not to repeat “mistakes” from the past - “Restoration will cost more than strategic planning”
Market conditions for hydropower are less and less predictable, but big changes in different regions and individual Danube countries
Going public to explain measures and its value 19

20. IV. Outcomes of ICPDR Hydropower Workshop March 2017
Next steps and way forward identified on ICPDR level
ICPDR will continue being neutral platform for exchange of experiences in the application of ICPDR Guiding Principles (case studies, strategic planning, cost-efficient measures to mitigate negative impact of hydropower)
Next exchange in 2019/2020 in frame of preparation of RBMP-Update 2021 focusing on ALL stakeholders, particular representatives from Hydropower Sector from Danube countries
Need for strengthening national/regional dialogue with ALL stakeholders, to learn from lessons from the past at national, regional and project levels 20

21. V. Summary and conclusions
Ambitious EU legislation in place for water and energy – challenge is implementation
Inter-sectoral cooperation is key for sound implementation of legislation
Practical application of ICPDR Guiding Principles and strategic planning approach for new hydropower provides broad range of potential benefits
Energy sector: Streamlined authorisation processes, improvement of predictability and upfront information where authorisation is likely
Environmental sector: Transparency, involvement in decision making process, protection of sensitive river stretches
Authorities: Increase of security for legal compliance, balanced approaches with involvement of relevant actors at an early stage 21

22. More information available for download under
Hydropower Guiding Principles, Assessment Report, Good Practice Examples and other related document:
ICPDR Secretariat / Vienna International Centre, D0412 / P.O. Box 500 / Vienna / Austria
Phone / Fax / /