Reforming for resilience: delivering ‘multipurpose hydropower’ under water and energy risks

Abstract

Multipurpose hydropower reservoirs are regularly framed as water security and climate change solutions. Although multipurpose projects can and do deliver a range of water services, 'win-win' outcomes are not guaranteed. Emerging water and energy risks are altering the net benefits from operating reservoirs to deliver hydropower generation, water supply, flood control, or other purposes. This paper shows that new hydropower governance approaches are needed to efficiently and fairly reallocate water under risks. We demonstrate that dynamic water reallocation is fundamental to the resilience of multipurpose reservoir systems and examine three potential reforms: periodic relicensing, water tariffs, and hydropower sustainability performance bonds.

A Systematic Review on Investment Risks in Hydropower to Developing Sustainable Renewable Energy Systems

“…This study is a Systematic Review of Investment risks in hydropower, where 34 full-text studies were conducted to develop (Abadie et al, 2020;Fernandes et al, 2019;Hamilton et al, 2020;Wessel et al, 2020) Literature review (Akcay, 2021;Dash and Singh, 2020;Denaro et al, 2018;Shaktawat and Vadhera, 2021;Wyrwoll and Grafton, 2021) Fuzzy-Logic (Dincer and Yuksel, 2019;Hashemizadeh et al, 2021;Karatop et al, 2021;Roy and Roy, 2020;Wu et al, 2020;Yu et (Dincer and Yuksel, 2019) Colar by Difference (CBD) (Fernandes et al, 2019) Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEA) (Gupta et al, 2020;Hamilton et al, 2020) The open source energy MOdelling SYStem (OSeMOSYS) (Howells et al, 2021) Risk-averse planning (Inzunza et al, 2021) Cost-benefit approach (Udayakumara and Gunawardena, 2018)…”

Stress Testing California's Hydroclimatic Whiplash: Potential Challenges, Trade‐Offs and Adaptations in Water Management and Hydropower Generation

“…Dams and reservoirs are essential components of water resource management, providing critical benefits such as flood mitigation, water supply security, and hydropower generation (Jain et al, 2023;Schmitt & Rosa, 2024;Wasti et al, 2022). These benefits translate into improved public health, enhanced agricultural productivity, and economic growth (Lehner et al, 2011;Nover et al, 2019;Wyrwoll & Grafton, 2022). Hydropower is particularly notable as it uses water as a renewable fuel source, necessitating careful water management to balance energy production with the needs of downstream users and other ancillary services (Forrest et al, 2018;Opperman et al, 2023;Rheinheimer et al, 2022;Stoll et al, 2017).…”

“…Rapidly changing hydroclimatic conditions are challenging, especially when managing reservoirs for meeting competing demands (Wyrwoll & Grafton, 2022). Therefore, the historical record alone is unlikely to provide sufficient information on reliability (i.e., probability that a system will perform its intended function), especially if a reservoir operates with carryover storage (i.e., if it provides storage to meet required withdrawals over a period of several dry years) (Nagy et al., 2013).…”