When Hydroelectric Meets Climate Change: Lessons For Renewable Diversity

Posted on 20. May, 2010 by Ross in Asia, Climate Change, Energy Shortages, Government Policy, South America

Reliance on hydroelectric power can lead to drought, famine and turmoil when not combined with other power sources and when future climate projections are ignored.

Around the world, governments which rarely agree on anything all agree with one thing: that climate change is a real danger to civilisation. Developed and developing nations are pursuing greater levels of renewable energy generation to help to decarbonise their energy mix, and are mostly focusing on one particular renewable source which they have an abundant supply of energy for.

However, strong reliance on a single renewable source is proving to be a catastrophic strategy, with three significant nations in particular suffering massive yet differing problems with their pursuit of hydroelectric power, coupled with droughts which are only likely to worsen as the effects of climate change continue.

Venezuela has been decimated by power shortages following a protracted drought which totally drained the Guri hydroelectric dam, which usually generates 73% of the country’s energy. Widespread blackouts, power rationing and enforced curfews for some business sectors have caused social turmoil in a country already bitterly divided by poverty and politics.

India teetered on the brink of an energy meltdown as a result of a 24% dependence upon hydroelectric power last year too. A weak monsoon season - partly due to El Nino as well as climate change - left reservoir levels dangerously low, but India at least had sufficient capacity from other sources to weather out the storm (or lack of it). Having learnt it’s lesson, India is now pursuing complementary renewable energy strategies as well, including installing a huge 20GW of solar power over the next twelve years.

However, it is China which truly leads the way in hydroelectric dependency disasters. After pursuing a massive hydroelectric construction programme, China now generates 22.5% of it’s national power capacity from this one renewable, and plans to increase this by another 50% over the next decade. The country’s mountainous south-west provinces already generate 45% of their energy from hydroelectric power.

Like India and Venezuela, China has also been heavily affected by decreased rainfall over the last six months which has crippled energy supplies. Hydroelectric power in Yunnan province has dropped 80%; Guangxi has lost 90% of it’s capacity. Despite the desperately low supply of water, however, station operators only have concerns for electricity supply, allowing precious remaining reserves of water to run dry in the pursuit of energy. That has left 23 million people in the area short of drinking water in regions with no history of water scarcity and, with no water for irrigation either, food supplies are likely to be pushed to the brink as well.

These events have serious implications for energy strategy across the rest of the world. Pursuit of single solutions - due to costs or abundance - is inherently risky, with a wider portfolio of power generation able to provide more stable provision of energy to a country. However, it also highlights the risks that climate change brings to the very measures being pursued to combat it. Governments must tailor their solutions not just to what is best now, but what is also best in the face of changing weather patterns. Hydroelectric power is foolhardy in the face of a drying climate, whilst wind power might be a wasted effort in regions facing lessening wind speeds in the future and tidal power barrages may be affected by rising sea levels and fiercer storms.

Whatever the mix of solutions that governments pursue, renewable energy is just one piece of the climate change puzzle. Energy efficiency will enable cuts in the amount of energy required, whilst future breakthrough technologies will also be necessary to help countries decarbonise over the coming decades.

Image of Bull Shoals State Park hydroelectric power station by coreburn @ Flickr