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EUROPEAN SMALL HYDROPOWER ASSOCIATION Newsletter – December 2008

Table of contents EUROPEAN SMALL HYDROPOWER ASSOCIATION ........................................................................................................... 1 EDITORIAL ................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 NEWS from ESHA .................................................................................................................................................................... 3 EUSEW 2009 – Investing in Sustainable Hydro .................................................................................................................... 3 TH ESHA Celebrates its 20 Anniversary on 17 March 2009 .................................................................................................... 3 SHERPA project: deliverables ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Seminar for investors in refurbishing SHP: SHAPES ............................................................................................................ 3 SHP Research Network: SHAPES ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Training Programmes for SHP Developers in India : SHAPES ............................................................................................. 4 HYDROACTION – Participate in a survey! ............................................................................................................................ 5 CERTIFICATION FOR HYDRO: Improving Clean Energy (CHOICE) .................................................................................. 5 RURAL-RES: New project launched! .................................................................................................................................... 5 EUROPEAN WATER PARTNERSHIP : New “Energy & Water” Working Group ................................................................. 6 ESHA-EURELECTRIC Joint Position on Eels ....................................................................................................................... 6 French Presidency Public Participation workshop in Poitiers ................................................................................................ 6 New incentive scheme for 2009 already oversubscribed in Switzerland ............................................................................... 7 ICH Course Programme published ........................................................................................................................................ 7 NEWS from EREC .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 2008 EU Presidency Renewable Energy Policy Forum, Paris .............................................................................................. 7 EREC organises a high-level conference on “The EU energy & climate package – a new “green-deal for Europe” ........... 8 NEWS from European Institutions ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Water Framework Directive Update ....................................................................................................................................... 8 In Brief ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Tenders ................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Agenda .................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

ESHA – European Small Hydropower Association Renewable Energy House, Rue d‟Arlon 63-67 B - 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32.2.546.19.45, Fax: +32.2.546.19.47, E-mail: info@esha.be, www.esha.be ESHA is founding member of EREC - European Renewable Energy Council

EDITORIAL

Dear readers, Whilst this December newsletter includes the latest information on ESHA‟s activities over the past few months, we would also like to take this opportunity to give a brief overview of the year 2008. Indeed, this year has been a very active one in the field of small hydropower and renewable energy sources in general: in January 2008, the European Commission published a climate and energy package containing the longawaited Renewable Energy Directive which should create the legislative framework for reaching a binding share of 20% of the EU‟s final energy consumption from renewable energy sources. Furthermore, 2008 was marked by the growing concern on the quality of Europe‟s water, and the development of sustainable strategies for all sectors. ESHA has been actively involved in these through its participation in lobbying activities with EREC, the European Renewable Energy Council, on the Renewable Energy Framework Directive, in the Water Framework Directive working group meetings, and in the establishment of an “energy-water” platform together with the European Water Partnership. The year 2008 has also seen the finalizing of certain EU projects such as SHERPA, which promotes SHP at EU level, and the beginning of other projects such as SHAPES, which will create a Research Agenda for SHP and specific educational bases for SHP experts. Of course we cannot forget the most important highlight of 2008, our HIDROENERGIA Conference held in June in Bled, Slovenia which was a huge success thanks to the commitment and hard work of Marko Godpodjinački and Patricija Manfreda from SSHA (Slovenian Small Hydropower Association). ESHA would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the new members who joined in 2008: Erik Bollaert - Aquavision Engineering Sarl, Switzerland; Bart De Cremer - Acotec NV, Belgium; Anton Rienmüller Vag Armaturen, Germany; Nick Smith – Langogan Power Corporation, Philippines; Ahmad Nourbakhsh – ULB, Belgium; Giorgios Vargiamidis – Ecologiki Energiaki, Greece; Konstantinos Oikonomidis – Energia APE S.A., Greece; Boris Enov – EDIN Engineering, Russia; Ricardo Morgado – A Silva Matos Investimentos SA, Portugal; Miha Pisljar – Turboinstitut d.d., Slovenia; Brian Yanity – Nana Corp, USA; Horret Verrev, Estonia; Marco Magliano, Italy; Pier Luigi Zanotti - Studio Seta, Italy; Armando Testori, Belgium; Alain Huwé, Belgium; Olivia Samara, Greece, Jurič Vedran – IGH, Croatia, as well as our new sponsor member: Hydropol from Czech Republic. We would also like to congratulate Mr. Bogdan Popa on the setting up ROSHA, the Romanian Small Hydropower Association, and let him know that he has ESHA‟s full support, and congratulate CELAPEH, the promoter for development of SHP plants in Latin America and of which ESHA is a founding member, on its first anniversary. Over the past year, ESHA also underwent internal some changes. Lauha Fried joined ESHA as Policy Officer in early 2008, Gema San Bruno was promoted to Deputy Secretary General in October, and Celso Penche, one of ESHA‟s founders and most active promoters of small hydropower retired from the professional SHP business. Bernhard Pelikan was re-elected as ESHA President for which we are very grateful in view of his experience and knowledge in the SHP sector. 2009 will bring many interesting issues and challenges for ESHA. First of all, ESHA will blow out its 20 candles in March 2009, an event we would like to celebrate with all of you! And on the 2009 agenda, the following issues: followup of EU Policy affecting SHP, approach towards Central-East European countries SHP potential and opportunities, opening of collaboration with non-European countries and materialization towards a Sustainable Hydropower for Europe merging the production of electricity with the respect of the environment. Happy reading and best wishes for the New Year! Your passionate ESHA Team in Brussels,

NEWS from ESHA EUSEW 2009 – Investing in Sustainable Hydro ESHA is organising a workshop entitled “Investing in Sustainable Hydro” in the context of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) in Brussels on 12 February 2009 in the Committee of the Regions‟ Jacques Delors building. The event is scheduled to take place from 14:30 to 17:30 and is free of charge. ESHA is launching a call for expression of interest to its members should they wish to contribute to the workshop with a presentation. The target group and audience of this event are policy makers and energy stakeholders with a large representation of officers from the European Institutions. To register to this event please go directly to www.eusew.eu. If you would like to contribute with a presentation or have more information on this event, please contact Gema San Bruno

ESHA Celebrates its 20TH Anniversary on 17 March 2009 ESHA will be holding an evening reception on 17 March 2009 to celebrate its 20 years of existence at the Renewable Energy House in Brussels. The event will not only gather together ESHA‟s members, but also officials from the EU Institutions and other stakeholders. ESHA members will receive a personal invitation in due course. For further information, please contact Wendy Lakin

SHERPA project: deliverables The SHERPA project, partly funded by the IEE programme, finished at the end of September 2008. This project aimed at promoting SHP to improve SHP conditions for better market penetration and focussed its work on three main pillars: review on the current SHP situation in the EU, identification of barriers and strategies to overcome them through an integrated approach, and development of sustainable and environmental principles for SHP. Over the past two years, the project has produced a large number of deliverables:          

Report on the Status of SHP Policy Frameworks and Market Development in Europe (produced by SERO and LHA) Sustainability criteria to be tested in SHP and first results (Produced by IWHW & ESHA) HYDRorPOWER publication analysing the conflicts between the WFD and RES Directive “Good Practice Brochure” on Participatory Approach for SHP Development (produced by IED) Report on ISO 14001 & SHP (produced by ADEME) Guide on How to Build a SHP plant in Spanish & Italian (produced by ESHA and APER, respectively) Report on Social Engineering (produced by IWHW) Report on Economic Analysis of environmental mitigation measures for SHP (produced by IED) Report on Environmental Integration: technical & operational procedures (produced by APER) Report on Local Plans development in Italy and France (produced by APER & IED, respectively)

Publications are available at SHERPA on the ESHA website. For additional information on the project or if you would like to receive a hard copy of a publications please contact Gema San Bruno

Seminar for investors in refurbishing SHP: SHAPES Acciona organised a seminar in Pamplona, Spain on 23 October 2008 targeted at potential investors in the refurbishment and upgrading of SHP. This Seminar for Investors on SMALL HYDRO POWER REFURBISHING corresponded to one of the lines of work of the SHAPES Project: the promotion of the refurbishing of old small hydro plants to improve their efficiency

and optimize their operation, bearing in mind that 70% of the small hydro plants currently existing in Europe are over 40 years of age. The Objectives of the seminar were to give an overall view of the possibilities for refurbishing existing small hydro power plants, to learn about practical experiences and cases and to encourage investment in the existing/old/abandoned sites still offering a good potential. The programme included presentations from ESHA, Studio Frosio, Acciona, Endesa, the National government of Navarra, APPA and Voith Siemens Hydro. After the seminar an optional visit to the „Olaldea‟ small hydro plant, as a practical example of a fully operational refurbished plant, was organised. For more information on this seminar and its conclusions, please contact Francisco de Vicente of ACCIONA. For additional information on SHAPES project, please contact Gema San Bruno.

SHP Research Network: SHAPES SHAPES project aims at creating a network of SHP research entities as the basis for a Research Infrastructure in the field of SHP with a view to draft a Research Agenda for SHP and contribute to the ERA (European Research Area). For this purpose and in order to set strategic objectives, ESHA, together with MHyLab, is trying to identify the different entities involved in the SHP RD&D sector. If you are a research body with specialization and competence in SHP and/or you are running, involved in or aware of SHP research projects or you would just like to contribute to the Research Agenda for SHP with your knowledge or experience in the field, please contact Vincent Dennis from MhyLab at vincent.denis@mhylab.com. A networking event on research needs and priorities for SHP will be held next year in Poland, gathering all identified actors together with actors from the wind and ocean energy sectors in order to explore future joint actions in the field of RD&D. The final goal is to create a SHP platform similar to the technology platforms running under the support of the European Commission. For additional information on SHAPES and the Research Network, please contact Gema San Bruno

Training Programmes for SHP Developers in India : SHAPES The training programme entitled “Training Programme on Micro and Mini Hydropower scheme development in the Indian subcontinent” was delivered at the IIT Roorkee, India, on 16-17 October 2008. The training programme was attended by senior executives of SHP developers from India and Nepal, as well as by the directors and senior officials of various state nodal agencies responsible for the development of renewable energy systems in their respective states. The training was delivered by staff and experts from the Alternate Hydro Energy Centre (AHEC), India; the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) India; Dulas Ltd, UK; and Studio Frosio, Italy. Dr. N.P. Singh, Adviser, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of India, who was the guest of honour in the training programme, presented an overview of SHP development in India and the government initiatives and support for the development of renewable energy systems in India. Mr. Jonathan Cox from Dulas Ltd. introduced the SHAPES project and the objectives of Work Package 6. Mr. Shirish Garud from TERI outlined the findings of the research work carried out in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka (the basis of the training course) and the aim of the training programme. In addition to the lectures, participants had the opportunity to visit the real time simulator developed by AHEC. The objective of Work Package 6 (WP6) of the SHAPES project is to contribute to the promotion of SHP for rural electrification by developing appropriate professional tools for project developers in developing countries. With this objective in mind, it is proposed to develop a Guide on how to develop SHP projects in developing countries as the main deliverable, which will address the main challenges and specificities of developing these types of projects in developing countries. For additional information on this seminar or the guide, please contact Alok Kumar and/or Jonathan Cox. For general information on the SHAPES project, please contact Gema San Bruno

HYDROACTION – Participate in a survey! HYDROACTION starts its activities by reaching out to the companies of the SHP sector in Europe. A questionnaire has been developed in order to collect information about the current practices and needs together with future trends in small turbine design. The objective of this project is to improve the hydraulic efficiency of small action turbines by developing a methodology for the low-cost design optimization with regard to productivity and costs. The application of this innovative design methodology is expected to result in an average of 3-5 % increase in productivity. All entities participating to the survey will profit from the project result & enter a draw for a free entrance to the next HIDROENERGIA conference organised by ESHA in 2010! To participate in the survey or for additional information on the HYDROACTION project, please contact Lauha Fried

CERTIFICATION FOR HYDRO: Improving Clean Energy (CHOICE) The Choice project, partly funded by the IEE programme, was launched in September 2008. This project will last for two and a half years with the objective to develop a technically and economically feasible certification procedure for hydropower generation facilities of high environmental standards, being explicitly coherent with the requirements of the WFD, to be implemented in “green labelled” electricity products and being integrated with existing EU tools, such as Ecolabel, EMAS, EIA and SEA. The first activity of the project is to review the existing material in order to build the knowledge base necessary to take agreed decisions about the methodology to be adopted. Visits to hydropower plants certified by VUE (Switzerland) followed by a workshop on the Greenhydro methodology took place in Zurich from the 24-26 November 2008. A workshop to share the results of the reviewing of existing tools and regulatory framework as well as of the existing best practices/guidelines for compensation measures for hydro power generation facilities will be organised in Brussels on the 12 February 2009 within the framework of EUSEW09. CHOICE project is coordinated by Ambiente Italia and its partners are CIRF, WWF Italy, APER, Studio Frosio, LIMNOS, HSE, IPVO, SSHA, CLER, UPM, REC Slovakia and ESHA. For particular information on the deliverables please contact Giulio Conte. For general information on CHOICE, ESHA involvement and the workshop, please contact Gema San Bruno

RURAL-RES: New project launched! The partly funded project by the IEE programme RURAL-RES was officially launched on 1 October 2008, however, its kick-off meeting only took place on 5-6 December 2008 in Huelva, Spain. This project aims to promote good practices in the use of small-scale renewable energy systems in terms of minihydro and wind power in mountain areas in the EU. It aims to do this by identifying the potentials in each area for the use of mini-hydro and wind power, to raise awareness of the advantages of the use of small-scale systems for energy use, and to train specialists in companies, municipalities, and farmers in the use of small-scale mini-hydro and wind power installations in mountain areas. This project will run for two years and include in its consortium: Diputación provincial de Huelva (co-coordinator), Energikontor Sydest, Energy Centre of Western Thessaly, Association of North Bohemian Municipalities, Sun Valley, AGENA and ESHA. For additional information on this project and ESHA contribution, please contact Gema San Bruno

EUROPEAN WATER PARTNERSHIP : New “Energy & Water” Working Group ESHA participated in the formal kick-off meeting of the “water-energy” working group coordinated by the European Water Partnership on 1 December 2008 at the EWP premises in Brussels. The working group aims to create and coordinate actions to provide common solutions for a sustainable management of the water in Europe by: (a) raising the topic onto the international political agenda through various participations in international meetings, (b) creating a common European database collecting scientific data on the water footprint of energy, and the energy footprint of water, (c) proposing activities to raise awareness and change people‟s behaviour through programmes, to promote best adapted solutions with innovative technologies, and best local management at regional and local levels. Members of this working group include Kiwa Water Research, University of Twente, DHI + DHI contact in Singapore, ANU - Australian National University, Environment Agency and CIEMAT from Spain amongst others. The group will meet again in January 2009 to define a detailed strategy. For additional information on this working group please contact ESHA Secretariat and for more info on the EWP, please visit www.ewp.eu

ESHA-EURELECTRIC Joint Position on Eels ESHA has collaborated with Eurelectric in drafting a position paper on the issue of eels and hydropower in view of the adoption of National Eels Management Plans (deadline for Member States to communicate to the Commission is 31 December 2008). In the Eel Management Plan (EMP), each Member State shall implement appropriate measures as soon as possible D. Brunet @ ADAPRA to reduce eel mortality caused by factors outside of fishery, including hydroelectric turbines, pumps and/or predators, unless these are necessary to attain the objective of the plan. One of the measures that an EMP could include is the temporary switching-off of hydroelectric power turbines. In response, ESHA and Eurelectric have pointed out in their position paper that the shutting down of the turbines during the whole migration season (4 months at night time) would be both disproportionate and not cost-effective, and the loss of renewable energy would be significant. Additionally, the migration peaks must be forecast. As of now, migration prediction by numeric models or by bio-monitoring is not reliable and cannot be used to manage turbine operation. More research is needed. The position also highlights the significance of hydropower as a renewable source of energy, with a very low carbon footprint. Given the 300 TWh hydropower production in Europe, by comparison the same capacity from hard coal emits 218 400 000 tonnes of CO2, from lignite, 283 200 000 tonnes of CO2 and from natural gas 104 700 000 tonnes of CO2. For more information on the ESHA-Eurelectric joint position on eels please contact Lauha Fried

French Presidency Public Participation workshop in Poitiers Sara Gollessi (APER) and Lauha Fried represented ESHA at a Public Participation workshop organised under the French Presidency from 14-16 November 2008 in St Pierre des Corps, France. The scope of the event was to raise awareness of the importance of public consultation. The WFD sets requirements for local stakeholder participation in making decisions on water management including planning and collaborating in the drafting of River Basin Management Plans, which allows for far-reaching public scrutinizing of, for example, local authorities‟ plans to build dams. Local level involvement is indeed an important element also when planning new SHP development in order to improve knowledge on small hydropower benefits as well as increase acceptance and commitment. Surveys have demonstrated that most opposition towards SHP is a

result of lack of knowledge about the technology, its benefits and its developments, including environmental mitigation measures. During the event Sara Gollessi disseminated a fresh „hot off the print‟ publication „HYDRorPOWER?‟ (prepared under the SHERPA project) on the very subject, assessing at river basin level the possibility of reconciling the WFD and RES targets and the impact on hydropower production. For more information regarding the workshop, please contact Lauha Fried

SMALL HYDRO 2009 ESHA is co-organising with International Water Power and Dam Construction Magazine a special event called “Small Hydro 2009” which will be held in Vancouver, Canada from 28-29 April 2009 and which will focus on SHP and investment opportunities. The Call for Papers is now closed but has received a large contribution from a number of countries. The draft programme will be available after the evaluation of the papers, and the venue of the event will be the “Vancouver Exhibition & Conference Centre”. Please note that ESHA Members will benefit from special conditions at the Conference. ESHA will have a stand for disseminating information and gain visibility at international level. For additional info on how to participate in this event, please contact Gema San Bruno. For general information on the Conference, please visit the event website

New incentive scheme for 2009 already oversubscribed in Switzerland The new Swiss incentive scheme for green energy, based on cost oriented feed-in tariffs, which will start in 2009, is already oversubscribed. Indeed, new subscriptions will only be possible when budget shares become free, which could take up to 4-5 years. Until then already registered projects will prove not to be feasible, unless the market price of electricity rises significantly. This proves a great will to invest in renewable energies, and a huge potential. The Federal Government may adapt the relating Energy Ordinance, and the Parliament will probably have to treat requests for raising the overall cost cap. For further information, please visit www.bfe.admin.ch or contact Hanspeter Leutwiler, author of the article.

ICH Course Programme published The International Centre for Hydropower in Norway has now published its Course Programme for training opportunities in 2009. The courses are built around the overarching concepts related to planning construction and operation of hydropower facilities as part of a mixed energy system as well as multipurpose projects. The courses deal with questions related to current international trends with regards to the restructuring of the power sector focusing on economic/financial questions, climate change and environmental and social issues. For a list of the courses available, or for further information on the ICH, please visit www.ich.no

NEWS from EREC 2008 EU Presidency Renewable Energy Policy Forum, Paris Organised by EREC, the EU Presidency Renewable Energy Policy Forum, which included the closing conference of the RESTMAC project, took place on 17 November 2008 in the framework of the Renewable Energies, Building Technologies and Energy Management Week which was held at the CNIT in Paris - La Défense, France from 17-22 November 2008.

The EU Presidency Renewable Energy Policy Forum was opened by Jean-Louis Borloo, French Minister for the Environment, Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, Claude Turmes, Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur for the Renewable Energy Directive, as well as Chantal Jouanno, President of Ademe. The conference was a great success, gathering some 800 participants. Anne Pénalba, President of France-HydroElectricité and representing ESHA, made a presentation on RES-electricity. For further information on the event, please visit www.erec.org or http://www.ademe-energy-letsmoveon.com/

EREC organises a high-level conference on “The EU energy & climate package – a new “green-deal for Europe” The high-level event “The EU energy & climate package – a new “green-deal” for Europe” which EREC co-organises with DG TREN on 9 February 2009 morning, will highlight the benefits and strategic importance of the EU‟s Climate & Energy Package currently being discussed by the EU institutions which, if timely adopted and transposed into national law, will make Europe a leader in climate and renewable energy policy in the world. For further information, please visit www.erec.org or send an email to events@erec.org

NEWS from European Institutions Water Framework Directive Update During the autumn, ESHA attended several Water Framework Directive (WFD) working group meetings in Brussels. The Ecological Status (ECOSTAT) working group meeting on 1-2 October 2008, focused on the activities related to the second phase of the intercalibration exercise (20082011) in the Member States. A workshop is planned on “Heavily Modified Water Bodies: Information Exchange on Designation, Assessment of Ecological Potential, Objective Setting and Measures” for early March 2009 in Brussels. The aim is to exchange information on HMW B designation processes in the Member States. The meeting of the Working Group on Floods took place on 23 October 2008. The Floods Directive requires a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment which includes considering the impacts of climate change on the occurrence of floods, the preparation of flood maps and the development of flood risk management plans to reduce the risk of floods. Member States must transpose this directive into national legislation by 26 November 2009. Several flood related events will be organised under each EU presidency: Czech Presidency conference on preliminary Flood Risk Assessment on 25-26 May 2009 and „Climate Change and Flood risk management‟ in Sweden in September 2009. The Strategic Coordination Group that coordinates the overall WFD working group activities met on 5-6 November 2008. Currently the WFD implementation is approaching the deadline for Member States to submit their first draft River Basin Management Plans by the end of 2008. They will be made available for consultation by 22 December 2008 at the latest, and be available for written comments for at least 6 months. Key issues for in-depth assessments are:      

Environmental objectives and exemptions Designation of HMWB Classification of ecological status and potential Measures related to agriculture, hydro-morphology and chemical pollution Measures related to water pricing policies (art. 9) Water scarcity and droughts

In the context of this process, a European stakeholder conference „Your water, your life’ will be organised on 2-3 April 2009 in Brussels. Key topics focus on feedback on the draft River Basin Management Plans and on water management issues. For further information on WFD related issues please contact Lauha Fried

In Brief Scotland assesses untapped hydropower potential Scotland has enough untapped hydro potential to provide electricity to more than half a million homes, according to a study published in September 2008 by local government. The Scottish Hydropower Resource Study concludes that there are 1019 potential hydro sites across Scotland which would be financially viable. These sites include run-of-river schemes and new storage schemes with total potential of 657 MW which could deliver 2.77 TWh/year. Most of the projects are in the Highlands, and would have installed capacities of less than 10 MW each. (Hydropower & Dams, Issue Five, 2008) Scottish Government approves two new hydro schemes The Scottish Government has approved two small hydro schemes with a combined generating capacity of 6 MW. The 3.5 MW Black Rock scheme, near Evanton in Rossshire, and the 2.5 MW scheme on Allt Coire Chaorach, near Crianlarich, are together capable of powering 3500 homes. Announcing the approval, Scotland‟s Energy Minister, Jim Mather, said the Government is determined to exploit all of Scotland‟s diverse renewable potential and will continue to support sustainable hydro development to tackle climate change and contribute to economic growth. (www.waterpowermagazine.com) Wind and water to power UK canals‟ green revolution The government agency responsible for the UK‟s network of canals and rivers recently unveiled ambitious plans to generate enough renewable energy to power 45.000 homes through the installation of 50 bank-side wind turbines and a number of microhydro projects. Although the main component of the project will be the installation of 50 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 100MW, an undisclosed number of small-scale hydropower generators will also be installed. www.microhydropower.net Hydraulic laboratory opened in the Czech Republic A new laboratory has been placed into operation in Blansko, Czech Republic, to support the development of hydraulic machines. The hydraulic laboratory is operated by Hydraulic Research Center Blansko, a company 60% owned by Litostroj Power and 40% owned by CKD Blansko Engineering. The laboratory has the expertise to carry out tests of physical models of hydraulic turbines, pump turbines and pumps in accordance with the IEC 60193 standards, as well as providing calibration of flowmetres. (http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=130&storyCode=2051254) Enel hold hydro, renewable in new “green power” unit Enel has set up Enel Green Power to hold its hydro power and other assets in the group‟s renewable portfolio and to develop further resources, including run-of-river projects in Europe and the Americas. The unit has more than 270 mini-hydro plants in Italy, and their combined installed capacity is 1507 MW. Elsewhere, the unit has approximately 1GW of hydro power assets. Its strategy is to both increase efficiency at existing plants and to focus on run-of-river developments. (www.waterpowermagazine.com) Microhydro systems for British Columbia Ranch The Halfway ranch in Kamloomps, British Columbia, is going to buid a new microhydro system financed by provincial government. BCLocalNews.com reports the ranch is receiving C$40.000 to build and operate its own microhydro generating plant. The funding comes from the provincial government‟s Innovative Clean Energy Fund. When completed, the new system is expected to generate a maximum of 25 kW of electricity. www.microhydropower.net The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to review funding proposals for 'small and mini hydro power' schemes in Lao PDR. A proposal, to be assessed next month, is to have US$700,000 for technical assistance studies. The money would come from the Clean Energy Fund, ADB said. ADB completed a fact-finding mission on the proposal for technical assistance last month. (http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=130&storyCode=2051282) ADB studies Sri Lanka's Mawanana mini-hydro The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is studying a private loan funding proposal for the Mawanana mini-hydro project in Sri Lanka. The Bank has just completed a 14-month due diligence mission on the proposed project, which would have an installed capacity of 5.4MW. http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=130&storyCode=2051442 SMEC wins Indian small hydro contract SMEC International has been contracted to provide consulting services for the design, procurement and construction management of an integrated power transmission system and small hydro power projects in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. The contract, awarded by the Uttarakhand Energy

Department under the Asian Development Bank-funded Uttarakhand Power Sector Investment Program, will cover four small hydro projects with capacities ranging from 4MW to 10MW. (http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=130&storyCode=2051517) Punjab to accelerate small hydropower plants The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has announced th that during the ongoing 11 Plan Period ending March 2012, the state expects to add 34.5 MW new capacity through installed SHP projects. PEDA said that Punjab has a total potential of 140 MW through SHP projects against which 29.55 MW capacity is under operation. To boost the sector, private participation is being elicited for micro and mini hydropower schemes. www.microhydropower.net Brazil's BNDES to help fund 10 small hydro projects The national development bank of Brazil (BNDES) has approved funding for 10 small hydro power projects to be operated by the publicly-held power company Empresa de Investimento em Energias Renovaveis SA (Ersa). BNDES is to provide R$471.5M (US$212M) for the small projects, which are planned to have combined installed capacity of 137MW. The first plant to be built is the 10MW Cocais Grande, in Minas Gerais, and it is due to begin operations in December. http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=130&storyCode=2051443 30% of African Governments‟ energy funds for small hydro proposed UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) and the African Energy Commission of the African Union have called on African governments to set aside 30% of their energy funds for the development of SHP. A communiqué said the increased promotion of SHP development in Africa for productive use could support employment generation and economic growth, and identified key barriers to SHP development in Africa to include insufficient data on SHP potential and lack of appropriate technologies. www.microhydropower.net

Tenders India: Development of Small Hydropower Projects Bids for two projects in India are invited 1) for the development of a SHP project of 2 x 2.0 MW capacity named Khirao Ganga Hydroelectric Project, near Benakuli Village, Govindghat, Disst. Chamoli with bid sales ending on 22 December 2008 at 16.00 and 2) for the development of 3 x 8.1 MW capacity projects named Bhyundar Ganga Hydroelectric Project, also near Govindghat with bid sales ending on 31 December 2008 at 16.00. For further information on both tenders, please contact Super Hydro Electric Private Limited on vkgarg@mountainenergy.co.in or visit www.mountainenergy.co.in (ARE Project and Procurement Information 4/08)

Agenda January 2009 -

5-7 January: International Perspective on Environmental and Water Resources, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand. For further information, please email ewri@asce.org

February 2009

9 February: The EU energy & climate package – a new “green-deal” for Europe, organised by EREC and DG TREN. To be held in Brussels, Belgium in the framework of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week. For more information, contact events@erec.org

12 February: Investing in Sustainable Hydro, workshop organised by ESHA in the framework of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week held in Brussels. For further information, please contact Gema San Bruno

May 2009 -

11-16 May: Electricity Regulatory Initiative Seminar (ELRI) organised by the ICH and to be held in Oslo, Norway. Deadline for applications is the 1 April 2009. For further information, please contact laura@ich.no or visit www.ich.no

DISCLAIMER: ESHA prepares this Newsletter to enhance access to information about news, policies and events concerning the small hydropower sector and renewable energy in general. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate and therefore, ESHA compiles this information from different available and reliable sources and selects Newsletter content in the best efficient way it knows. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. However, ESHA accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information on this paper. This information is of a general nature, not necessarily complete or accurate and sometimes linked to external sites over which ESHA has no control and for which the ESHA assumes no responsibility.

ESHA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; European Small Hydropower Association Renewable Energy House, Rue dâ&#x20AC;&#x;Arlon 63-67 B - 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32.2.546.19.45, Fax: +32.2.546.19.47, E-mail: info@esha.be, www.esha.be ESHA is founding member of EREC - European Renewable Energy Council