Hydropower Development

Hydropower provides about 20 per cent of world electricity supply. It contributes about 760 GW of installed capacity worldwide, and 260 GW in the Asia Pacific region. However, a vast amount of untapped potential remains to be developed.  (In Asia, about 80 per cent of technically feasible potential). Hydro is playing a very significant role in helping some of the Asian countries which have the most rapidly developing economies, and has tremendous potential in the least developed countries in the region. The South East Asian region presents a number of examples of collaboration between neighbouring countries to develop hydro resources in an integrated way, which is a very good model for some other parts of the world in the future.

Hydropower and why we should be proud of it

The list of benefits of hydropower, certainly well known to all Asia 2006 delegates, usually begins with the fact that it is a clean and renewable resource, that it reduces dependence on fossil fuels, keeping the environment cleaner and healthier, and, in the long term, once initial investment costs are paid, that it is a low cost source of electricity.

As we know, hydro has certain technical advantages for a grid system, in particular the capability to provide peaking power. It allows for energy independence.  It is a mature technology, well researched and developed worldwide. And a great economic advantage is that, once civil works are in place, there is potential to ensure a very long operating life by replacing some components at relatively low cost.

Of the various sources of energy, both renewable and non-renewable, hydropower is the only one which can offer additional and often multiple benefits to meet a number of human needs: storage reservoirs can provide water supply for domestic or industrial use or for irrigation, flood routing, recreation, etc) and run of river schemes can offer additional benefits for river systems (flow regulation, improved navigation, etc).

But perhaps the most important benefit is the fact that such a vast potential remains, in particular in the parts of the world where extra capacity is most urgently required. That is especially true in Asia, where technically feasible potential of about 6800 TWh/year remains, and where the greatest amount of development is at present under way.