Environmental implications of upland run-of-river hydro schemes

The UK Government is committed to providing 10% of the country's electricity supplies from renewable energy sources by the year 2010, and has set a target of 20% by 2020. The steps by which these goals could be achieved will clarify their planning implications and hence prospect of being realised. Hydroelectric power brought electricity to many world communities for the first time and some still depend heavily upon it. Most others, like those in the UK, long ago had to look elsewhere for supplies as demand outstripped the potential of this source. The World Bank is now exploring the prospects for adding significantly to the capacity of hydroelectric power in countries with unexploited resources. Renewed interest in hydroelectric power comes as a direct result of international concern about the effects on the environment of burning fossil fuels. However, not all hydroelectric projects have been blemish-free. The purpose of this paper is to review this aspect of the hydroelectric industry as it relates to upland run-of-river projects—the aim being to establish how governments can best look to this form of hydroelectric power to meet some part of their renewable energy targets. The ever more stringent and strongly precautionary approach to new projects of all types being taken by the regulatory bodies is significant in this respect. It is concluded that the commonly-voiced message that the development potential of hydroelectric power in the UK is exhausted merits careful re-examination in view of the fact that historic schemes were intended for a variety of purposes, not all of which are pertinent to current requirements. In particular, just as changing circumstances have encouraged the growth of the ‘no-storage’ windpower industry, so too has hydroelectric power moved from a dependence on reservoirs to the ‘take-it-as-you-find-it’ run-of-river solution. The present political will for economic solutions to the growing international energy dilemma is also a new factor, upland run-of-river schemes often providing viable solutions for electricity production when assessed against all criteria. This paper focuses on the environmental issues that are likely to arise when assessing this type of project.