LARGE DAMS AS A SOURCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

1. LARGE DAMS ASA SOURCE OFRENEWABLE ENERGY Glen Singleton, Ph.D., P.Geo., B.C. Hydro Canada

4. Note: Wind has now expanded to approximately 1.5% International Hydropower Association

5. Total world hydropower: 2920 TWh

6. Remaining World hydropower potential = 5660TWh (economically feasible)

8. HYDROPOWER IN CANADA • > 12% of Global Hydropower • 475 hydro plants. • > 370 TWh from over 89 GW of installed capacity. • Accounts for ~ 97% clean renewable energy supply in Canada. • ~ 118 GW of technical potential remain. (Government of Canada, 2009) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectricity)

9. China: the world’s hydropower leader • Between 1950-1980, an average of 600 dams / year were built in China. • Nearly one-half of the world’s large dams (22,000) are in China. • 60% of all dams under construction worldwide are in China or India. US & International Water Institutions EVR 5332–Integrated Solutions for Water in Environment & Development September 24, 2007

10. WORLD’S TOP HYDROPOWER COUNTRIES • ______________________________________________________________ • * • By the end 2006 China had 40,000 small hydro plants, which accounted for 40 GW. • China has 86 GW of large hydro under construction and 40 GW proposed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectricity) (Worldwatch Institute, 2007)

11. Most hydro energy comes from large or major dams. • > 15 m high (or 10m with crest >500m) • > 1 million m3 storage capacity • > 2000 m3/sec spilling capacity • unusual design or foundation problems

12. Small to micro hydro (~70 GW of over 960 GW of installed capacity) • small hydro (50MW-1MW), mini (1MW-100kW) and micro (less than 100kW) (International Water Power and Dam Construction, 2009)

14. Dam Drawbacks to the Environment • Ecosystem Destruction • Fish Blockage and Wildlife Losses • Large-Scale Flooding Due to Dam Failures • Sedimentation and Salinity • Herbicide and Other Toxic Contamination • Evaporative Losses • Nutrient Flow Retardation • Release of greenhouse gasses Report of the World Commission on Dams ( 2000)

15. Dam Drawbacks to Human Communities • Human Displacement • Flooding of Cultural Sites • Social disruption • Cost overruns • Socio-economic centralization Report of the World Commission on Dams (2000)

16. Flooding Land is not renewable

17. Hydropower Advantages • Energy source is renewable • Can contribute to fresh water storage • Improve grid stability and flexibility • Low pollution and can be low for GHG • Proven technology • Affordable

18. BC Hydro’s Coursier Dam – Decommissioned in 2003

19. ) (Unit costs versus project size – whole sample 1967-1996, from ICOLD, Grand Inga for Africa)

20. People Displaced / MW (From: “Large Dams - Learning from the Past, Looking at the Future” IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK and the World Bank Group, Washington, D.C. July 1997) Three Gorges, China Churchill Falls, Canada

21. http://image09.webshots.com/9/3/0/42/109830042fcnNCG_fs.jpg Barrage , Vadiello Diamer Basha dam. Indus River. Afghanistan. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/events/docs/Hewitt_presentation.pdf Image from: http://www.photo.net/photo/pcd2882/hoover-dam-aerial-91

22. http://image03.webshots.com/3/6/81/12/97968112fZmUJC_fs.jpg Kununurra Western Australia http://www.kimberleycroc.com.au/activities_and_attractions

23. China’s Three Gorges Dam • World’s largest dam project. • To be completed in 2009. • >1 mile wide. • ~20,000 MW of installed electricity generation capacity. EVR 5332–Integrated Solutions for Water in Environment & Development September 24, 2007

24. B.C. HYDRO SYSTEM • 90% HYDROELECTRIC • 30 INTEGRATED GENERATING STATIONS • 54% SUPPLY FROM PEACE (2) AND COLUMBIA (2) RIVERS STATIONS • 11,000 MW TOTAL INSTALLED CAPACITY

26. Common Concerns

27. Common Concerns

28. Major mitigation methods • Mitigation and compensation commitments during licensing. • Permanent fish and wildlife compensation programs. • Comprehensive water use plans negotiated with government and public. • Ongoing operational controls and monitoring.

29. Land Impacts per 1,000 GWh Production – Across Resource Options1. 1. Extracted from BC Hydro 2005 IEP Consultation Process. Large Hydro example changed to reflect data from Mica Dam.

31. Socio-Economic Factors per 2,000 GWh Production – Across Resource Options1. 1. Extracted from BC Hydro 2005 Provincial IEP Committee Consultation.

32. Emission intensity (tonnes GHG/GWh) for renewable generation technologies. conventional natural gas = 469 tonnes/GWh (Kulcinski, 2002, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

33. Conclusions • Large hydro is an important world wide current and future source of low GHG electricity. • Large hydro comes with significant impacts that must be managed. • On a regional/provincial and per unit energy basis, large hydro can be competitive with other renewables. • Careful planning and mitigation/compensation are required to support large hydro.

34. SEA for Planning Large Hydro • Provide wider regional planning context for impact assessment. • Consider interdependencies of supply options. • Assess background sustainability of biophysical and social resources. • Early identification of viable alternatives. • Can consider transmission grid development