Opinion
Hydroelectricity to be more sustainable in 2022
By Rubi Alvarado General Manager, Energy Capital Magazine
Hydropower will become more sustainable in the future and that will drive substantial project development growth by 2026, worldwide.
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ustainability will continue to be a major player in most of the energy subsectors. From oil and gas to renewable energies, dropping down and tackling greenhouse gas emissions will be a must for developers and operators. The fact that sustainability is a player among renewable energy
project development could surprise some, as renewable sources, such as solar, wind, and even hydroelectricity have been heralded as “green”. However, more recently the industry has been discussing how much of the green energy is not that green at all. For example, solar arrays and wind turbine manufacturing require a lot metal, sometimes rare metals. As demand for these devices has boosted over the years, also the demand for metals that many times are mined with solvents and other technologies with a considerable environmental footprint. That is also the case of hydroelectricity. Hydro project development has faced several environmental issues. In Canada, the Atlin Hydro Expansion project is creating major concerns as the plant’s expansion would severely impact surrounding wetlands and would devastate the habitat of birds and other wildlife. Particularly in the Yukon. Moreover, the expansion would require the trespassing of private properties and the cutting of forest to dig the pipelines. However, according to a new report by ReportLinker, the trend for 2022 is that hydro power will become increasingly sustainable, as companies are upgrading their technologies. Companies are investing to increase the efficiencies of hydropower plants to make them compatible with the environment. In fact, during 2021 there was some examples of such trend. For instance, in 2021, companies such as EPCG and ERS introduced the construction on hydropower plant (HPP) Sutorina to increase their performance and making them more environmentally friendly.