Clean Energy Technology Observatory: Hydropower and Pumped Hydropower Storage in the European Union - 2023 Status Report on Technology Development, Trends, Value Chains and Markets
Hydropower provides an important contribution to renewable energy, with multiple benefits associated to water reservoirs. However, dams in freshwater systems can cause environmental damages. Hence sustainable hydropower needs to achieve a good balance between electricity generation, impacts on ecosystems and benefits on society, supporting the achievement of the Green Deal targets and the objectives of renewable energy and water policies. Several sustainable hydropower options exist, whose potential is of high relevance especially in the European Union. Amongst others, these are: modernization of the existing hydropower fleet, hydropower integration and hybridization with other energy technologies (floating photovoltaics, heat extraction from generators, batteries), tapping hidden hydropower in water and wastewater distribution networks, hydropower in existing and non-removable barriers (e.g. water mills), reservoir interconnection and hydrokinetic turbines. Digitalization is also emerging as a relevant strategy to mitigate impacts along rivers and optimize hydropower generation taking into account weather, technical, market and environmental factors. The European hydropower sector plays a leading role at the global scale, holding the largest share of export, high-value inventions and scientific publications, and China is the main concurrent. Therefore, hydropower is a key sector to strengthen the competitiveness of the EU in an increasingly challenging world.
QUARANTA Emanuele;
GEORGAKAKI Aliki;
LETOUT Simon;
KUOKKANEN Anna;
MOUNTRAKI Aikaterini;
GRABOWSKA Marcelina;
GEA BERMUDEZ Juan;
TATTINI Jacopo;
2023-10-24
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC134918
978-92-68-08433-5 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 31703 EN,
OP KJ-NA-31-703-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC134918,
10.2760/841176 (online),
Additional supporting files
| File name | Description | File type | |
|---|
