Is hydropower the controversial solution to Europe’s clean energy problem?
New hydropower dams have become a source of concern for some environmentalists.
The Vjosa river runs from Greece, through Albania and the Balkan mountains before reaching the Adriatic sea.
This 272km long waterway supports an incredible amount of biodiversity providing a home for 69 different endemic fish species. Vulnerable and endangered animals rely on it to survive, including the Eurasian Lynx which stalks through the forests that line the banks of the river.
It is one of the last wild ecosystems in Europe, so untouched that scientists refer to it as a “blank page”. We know less about the Vjosa than we do about the Amazon Rainforest.
But in the last year, the river has become the centre of a crucial renewable energy debate happening across Europe.
The river has become the centre of a crucial renewable energy debate.
Activists are fighting for the area to become a National Park, as they fear the future of the Blue Heart of Europe is being threatened by a so-called “Hydropower Gold Rush”.
Despite Albanian political leaders promising they will put a stop to any such plans, a campaign supporting the creation of a National Park has received backing from numerous NGOs and even celebrities. Building dams, they say, could be the end of Europe’s last free-flowing river.
The Vjosa River, its species, and the livelihoods that depend on them are under constant threat of destruction from dams. Watch Vjosa Forever with @Patagonia and sign the petition to ask the Albanian government to support #VjosaNationalParkNow: https://t.co/F8hojt3Xp2
— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) March 11, 2021They aren’t the only ones pushing back against hydropower plans either. Last year 150 NGOs including WWF came together to call on the EU to end public funding of new hydropower projects in Europe. Their manifesto said the environmental damage the projects could bring would outweigh the contribution of mostly small new dams to the green energy transition.
So why is this supposedly planet-friendly form of energy generation such a source of concern for environmentalists?
Why is hydropower an important energy source in Europe?Over the last five years, the amount of electricity hydropower produces has grown by around five per cent in the EU. Currently, it makes up 13 per cent of our electricity mix, just behind wind power at 14 per cent. The renewable source has become integral to the EU’s target of achieving at least 32 per cent of energy from renewables by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.
“Hydropower will continue to play a vitally important role in the decarbonisation of Europe’s power sector,” Will Henley, a spokesperson for the International Hydropower Association (IHA) tells Euronews Living.
Where the energy source is particularly important is in storing excess wind and solar energy, according to the IHA. When the output is high, turbines can be run backwards to pump water up from a river or reservoir to store the power. Then, when it’s needed, the water can be released back down, propelling the turbines forward and producing electricity.
Grid operators are turning to hydropower for on-demand generation, when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.
Will Henley
Spokesperson for the International Hydropower Association
“As countries shift away from fossil fuel plants and scale up investment in variable renewables like wind and solar power, grid operators are turning to hydropower for on-demand generation, when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining, and to provide long-duration energy storage,” Henley adds.
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What’s the problem with hydropower?Not everyone is convinced that hydropower is the way forward for renewables in Europe, however. There have been a number of campaigns from NGOs and communities to try and prevent the building of new dams. These groups are concerned about the impact that new hydropower could have on some of Europe’s few remaining pristine waterways.
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