28 Hydropower & Dams Issue Four, 2005

Nearly 100 participants from morethan 15 countries gathered for the 5thThematic Network Workshop organ-ised by the European Small Hydro-power Association (ESHA), EPFL-LCH (Federal Institute of Techno-logy of Lausanne - Laboratory ofHydraulic Constructions), andMHyLab (Mini Hydraulics Lab-oratory, Switzerland). The interna-tional event was held to discusspolitical, environmental, engineeringand spatial planning challenges andadvancements in the SmallHydropower (SHP) sector. Such aninternational information exchangeis particularly imperative in the‘enlarged Europe’, to meet theEuropean Renewable Energy targets,and to cope with the challengeswhich implementation of the WaterFramework Directive (WFD) mightpose to the SHP sector.

The workshop was organized with-in the framework of two European-funded projects: the ThematicNetwork on Small Hydropower(TNSHP) funded by the EuropeanCommission, and the Swiss Govern-ment under the 5th FrameworkProgramme for Research andDevelopment and SPLASH project(Spatial Planning and LocalAgreements for Small Hydro pro-ject) funded under the Altener pro-gramme.

The Workshop demonstrated thatintegrated approaches to small hydrodevelopment are needed. These, itwas agreed, should include:

• the developing of favourable poli-cy frameworks, with binding targetsthat will ensure security for theinvestors; • R&D strategies in the medium andlong term, focusing on new develop-ments to improve the environmentalintegration of small hydropower plantsand reducing the investment costs, rec-

onciling economy and ecology; • good planning processes involvingall stakeholders to identified poten-tialities and constraints and to reducethe administrative barriers in thelicensing process; and, • raising public awareness and infor-mation dissemination through thedevelopment of tools to allow thecertification and labelling of smallhydropower plants.

Special attention has been given tothe WFD and its influences on smallhydro development. Some threats tosmall hydro development have beenidentified as a result of strict imple-mentation of the WFD, and these arelikely to cause a considerable reduc-tion of SHP production, combinedwith higher costs. The targets of theRES-e (Renewable Energy Sources –electricity) Directive can never bereached in matters relating to SHP ifthere is no harmonization betweenthe two Directives. However, theWFD is also an opportunity for a‘Water Revolution’ towards an inte-grated water management in Europewhere SHP can be integrated in therivers ecosystem, with minimum

environmental impacts, producingclean electricity and representing, inmany European countries, the back-bone of renewable energy.

The topics of spatial planning andterritorial approaches to smallhydropower development were cov-ered at the end of the Workshop, witha session dedicated to the presenta-tion of the results of the SPLASHproject. The spatial plans developedfor SHP in Ireland, Greece, France,Poland and Portugal were presented.Each country has developed its ownmethodology, identifying the poten-tial and constraints for SHP develop-ment on a territory. SPLASH showedthat good strategic spatial planning isfundamental for the coordinationbetween the RES-e Directive and theWFD Directive.

Besides the presentations, the par-ticipants were invited to visit theLaboratory of Hydraulic Cons-tructions, LCH, at EPFL and theMHyLab small hydro laboratory atMontcherand.

The 5th Thematic Network Work-shop on Small Hydropower constitut-ed a platform for the small hydropow-er sector between the Hidroenergia2004 conference in Falkenberg,Sweden, and the next Hidroenergia2006 to be held in Crieff, Scotland,from 7 to 9 June 2006.

ESHA continues to work to pro-mote SHP in Europe and beyond,and is looking forward to welcomingSHP specialists to Hidroenergia 2006in the UK.

This report was contributed by MariaLaguna, ESHA, from whom furtherdetails are available.ESHA, Secretariat, The RenewableEnergy House , 26, Rue du Trône , B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.

ESHA’s 5th Thematic Network workshopon Small Hydropower

Water Framework Directive Panel Discussion. Steve Cryer (British HydropowerAssociation), Bernhard Pelikan ( ESHA president), Ghislain Weisrock ( GPAE,France), Daniel Devanthéry, (Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forest andLandscape) Jorge Rodriguez-Romero ( European Commission DG Environment).

Workshop participants duringthe visit toMHyLab.