Rubi Alvarado

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.

Sustainability 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 projectdevelopmentcouldsurprise 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 otherwildlife. 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 powerwill 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.

13.6% OF

MARKET GROWTH EXPECTED FOR 2022

As reminder, hydropower generation consists of sales of hydropower energy and related services. Hydropower stations convert the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into electrical energy and which is provided to power transmission systems. The main types of products in hydropower generation are dike type, diversion hydropower station, mixed type, tide, pumped storage.

As sustainability increases efficiency, and then profitability, the hydropower market will grow substantially. According to the report, the global hydropowergeneration market is expected to grow from $261.97 billion in 2021 to $297.49 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.6%.

Finally,companies recoveringfromthe hit of the pandemic, and the rearranging of operations after the restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities will also be factors for the growth. The market is expected to reach $480.76 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 12.7%.