Investing in Sustainable Hydro

12 February 2009, Brussels - Berlaymont Building

ESHA organised a workshop entitled "Investing in Sustainable Hydro" which took place on 12 February 2009 in the Berlaymont building in Brussels in the framework EU Sustainable Energy Week - EUSEW 2009.

This exciting workshop, which brought together over 80 participants including decision-makers, potential investors, environmental groups, NGOs as well as hydropower stakeholders, underlined the potential opportunities for development and investment in a renewable energy sector that is capable of making a significant contribution in achieving the EU targets on RES for 2020. The workshop furthermore demonstrated how sustainable hydropower is evolving and complying with sustainability criteria necessary today environmentally and ecologically, and which furthers its potential of reducing CO2 emissions.

Opening Session:

Paula Baker, ALDE, Committee of the Regions "Investing in Sustainable Hydro"

Session 1 - Electricity production

Christine Lins, EREC, "The New RES Directive"
Helen Locher & Michael Fink, IHA, "Overview of the Hydropower Sector and Pathways towards Sustainability"
Tomas Söderlund, SERO, & Petras Punys, LHA, "The Current Situation of the SHP Sector in the EU"

Session 2 - Environmental Concerns:

Sara Gollessi, APER, "Implications of the WFD"
Aline Choulot, MHyLab, "Multi-Purpose Plants"
Marc Leclerc, MJ2 Technologies, "Eel-Friendy Turbines"

Session 3 - Costs related to electricity production & environmental concerns

António Sá da Costa, APREN, "Small Hydropower Concessions"
David Miller, IHPA, "Tariff Structure and Profitability"
Tom Howes, European Commission, DG TREN "Financing Renewable Energy Investments"
Marko Gospodjinacki, SSHA, "Financing Opportunities in the Balkans"

The ESHA workshop was followed by a Roundtable Discussion on the certification of sustainable hydro, held in the framework of the CH2OICE project, and presented by Giulio Conte, Ambiente Italia, "Why and how labelling more sustainable hydropower?"

A short presentation of the SMART Project was also presented by Maximo Peviani, CESI RICERCA, "Presentation of SMART Project"

With the support of: