Cumulative Impacts and Joint Operation of Small-Scale Hydropower Cascades

World Bank

Cumulative Impacts and Joint Operation of Small-Scale Hydropower Cascades

Autores

World Bank

Editor

World Bank, Washington, DC

Descripción

Increasing energy demands and concerns about global warming call for an increase in energy generation from renewable sources. Small hydropower plants represent a significant contribution to meet this demand. But the optimal use of this resource in a sustainable manner still remains a challenge. A cascade of small dams may have detrimental impacts on the environment and water use without implementation of proper mitigation measures and planning. To obtain more insight in the consequences of hydropower cascades and possibilities to improve the cascade planning process in order to reduce such impacts, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the World Bank jointly initiated the study on cumulative impacts and joint operation of small-scale hydropower cascades Supported by the Renewable Energy Development Program (REDP) in Vietnam. Chapter two provides a brief background on the small-scale hydropower development in Vietnam including its current planning procedures, while Chapter three provides a description of the six studied river basins. Chapter four describes the approach, methods and definitions of the study. During the first phase of the study all six rivers were screened for potential significant cumulative impacts. The results of this screening were presented in a separate report, of which the summary is given in chapter five. This screening showed that for four of the rivers significant cumulative impacts can be expected, which merited further detailed analysis. These four rivers are Ngoi Xan, Nam Tha, Nam Chien and Sap. For each of the four detailed study cases a description of the river basin and hydropower cascade has been made, the hydrological and environmental impacts were assessed and opportunities for joint operations quantified. This report presents summaries of the cumulative impact analyses (chapter six) and draws general conclusions with respect to present and future environmental conditions (chapter seven). It also summarizes the results of the optimization modeling for each cascade (chapter eight) and provides recommendations for future planning and cascade operation (chapter nine).

Palabras clave

ACCESS ROADS, ACCESS TO ENERGY, ADULT FISH, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PROGRAM, ANIMAL WASTES, ANNUAL RUNOFF, APPROACH, AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS, AQUATIC HABITAT, AVAILABILITY, BALANCE, BASIN BOUNDARIES, BASIN PLANS, CANALS, CAPACITY BUILDING, CARBON, CARBON DIOXIDE, CARBON ENERGY, CATCHMENT AREA, CATCHMENT AREAS, CIVIL ENGINEERING, CLEAN ELECTRICITY, CLIMATE CHANGE, COAL, DAM, DAM OPERATORS, DAM SAFETY, DAMS, DECISION MAKING, DEFORESTATION, DETRIMENTAL IMPACTS, DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROPOWER, DOWNSTREAM RESERVOIRS, DRY SEASONS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC VALUE, ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICITY DEMAND, ELECTRICITY PRICE, ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION, ELECTRICITY SUPPLY, EMPLOYMENT, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, ENERGY PRICES, ENERGY PRODUCTION, ENERGY SOURCES, ENVIRONMENTAL, ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, ENVIRONMENTS, EROSION CONTROL, EVAPORATION, EXPLOITATION, FINANCIAL RESOURCES, FISH, FISH MIGRATION, FISH SPECIES, FISHERIES, FISHING, FLOOD MITIGATION, FLOW REGIME, FLOW REGULATION, FLOWING WATER, FORESTRY, GLOBAL WARMING, HEAD, HEALTHY RIVERS, HYDRAULICS, HYDRO POTENTIAL, HYDROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, HYDROLOGICAL REGIME, HYDROLOGY, HYDROPOWER, HYDROPOWER DEVELOPERS, HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT, HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENTS, HYDROPOWER GENERATION, HYDROPOWER OPERATORS, HYDROPOWER PLANT, HYDROPOWER PLANTS, HYDROPOWER POTENTIAL, HYDROPOWER PRODUCTION, HYDROPOWER PROJECT, HYDROPOWER PROJECTS, HYDROPOWER RESOURCES, HYDROPOWER SCHEMES, HYDROPOWER SECTOR, IRRIGATION, IRRIGATION WATER, LAKE, LAKES, LAND USE, LARGE HYDROPOWER, LARGE RIVER, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, LOCAL PEOPLE, LOGGING, MAIN RIVER, MARKET LIBERALIZATION, MINERAL RESOURCES, MITIGATION MEASURES, MOUNTAINOUS AREAS, NATIONAL GRID, NATIONAL POWER, NATURAL CAPITAL, NATURAL FLOW, NATURAL RESOURCE BASE, NATURAL RESOURCES, PEAK FLOWS, PEAK POWER, POLICY MAKERS, POLLUTANTS, POLLUTION, POPULATION DYNAMICS, POWER CAPACITIES, POWER CAPACITY, POWER ENGINEERING, POWER GENERATION, POWER GENERATION CAPACITY, POWER STATION, RAINFALL, RENEWABLE ENERGY, RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT, RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION, RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS, RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES, RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE, RENEWABLE SOURCES, RESERVOIR, RESERVOIR AREA, RESERVOIR AREAS, RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION, RESERVOIR WATER, RESERVOIRS, RESETTLEMENT, RIPARIAN, RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEMS, RIVER, RIVER BASIN, RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT, RIVER BASIN ORGANIZATIONS, RIVER BASIN PLANNING, RIVER BASINS, RIVER BED, RIVER BEDS, RIVER DIVERSION, RIVER FLOWS, RIVER REGIME, RIVER STRETCH, RIVER SYSTEM, RIVER SYSTEMS, RIVER VALLEY, RIVER WATER, RIVERINE, RIVERINE ENVIRONMENT, RIVERS, SEDIMENT, SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT, SEDIMENT TRANSPORT, SEDIMENT YIELDS, SEDIMENTATION RATE, SEDIMENTS, SMALL DAMS, SMALL HYDROPOWER, SMALL RESERVOIR, SMALL SCALE HYDROPOWER, STEEP TOPOGRAPHY, STREAM, STREAM CHANNEL, STREAM CORRIDOR, STREAM FLOW, STREAMFLOW, STREAMS, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, SUSTAINABLE HYDROPOWER, TRANSMISSION LINE, TRANSMISSION LINES, TRIBUTARY, TURBINE, UPSTREAM CATCHMENT AREA, UPSTREAM DAMS, UPSTREAM RESERVOIRS, VALUED ECOSYSTEM COMPONENTS, VEC, WATER ALLOCATION, WATER QUALITY, WATER STORAGE, WATER STORAGE CAPACITY, WATER USE, WATERSHED MANAGEMENT