Hydropower For You - Sustainable small-scale hydropower in Central Asia

Project Information

Hydro4U

Grant agreement ID: 101022905

DOI

10.3030/101022905

EC signature date 20 April 2021

Start date 1 June 2021

End date 31 January 2027

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 11 488 428,03

EU contribution

€ 9 931 160,13

Coordinated by

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - Hydro4U (Hydropower For You - Sustainable small-scale hydropower in Central Asia)

Reporting period: 2024-06-01 to 2025-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Central Asia is a region blessed with a large theoretical potential for electricity generation from hydropower.
Especially in the upstream countries, this form of electricity generation has been playing a significant role since decades. However, the existing hydropower fleet consist mainly of old facilities, while new developments have been rather limited.
At the same time, water is a scarce resource, considering its uneven distribution and rising pressure caused by climate change and growing demand in the region. This again is subject to potential transboundary conflicts and fear of economic recession.
With the Hydro4U project, the involved consortium members have been encouraged to tackle part of these challenges by designing and implementing environmentally compatible, technically advanced, economically feasible, and climate-change-resilient small hydropower technologies (SHP), that work together with other water uses in a Water-Energy-Food-Climate Nexus context.
The main objectives are to:
Develop, demonstrate and assess two innovative SHP technologies in Central Asia.
Optimize the climate resilience of SHPs by including climate change scenario analysis.
Implement a GIS-based decision support system to enhance sustainable exploitation of SHP potentials.
Develop a scalable Water Accounting System to share energy and agriculture benefits in a climate-sensitive manner under the WFEC nexus context.
Support the competitiveness and market uptake of European SHP technologies and planning & assessment methods in CA.
Enhance problem awareness and objectiveness of policy makers, implementers, NGOs and the public.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

First reporting period:
The initial phase focused on data collection and building partnerships with stakeholders, including government agencies, authorities, NGOs, utility companies, private developers, farmers and local residents. A high quality database of hydrological, topographical, ecological and socio-economic data was created to support future tasks.
The main objective of Hydro4U is the planning, implementation and evaluation of two small hydropower plants. The members of the consortium prioritized the selection of optimal sites and partners for these demonstration activities. At the same time, two innovative technical solutions were developed:
Francis Container Power Solution (FCPS): to be demonstrated in Shakimardan, Uzbekistan, with Uzbekgidroenergo.
Hydroshaft Power Solution (HSPS): To be demonstrated in At-Bashi, Kyrgyzstan, with Orion LLC.
Innovative tools and methods for planning and assessment have been introduced to promote sustainable hydropower in Central Asia. A GIS database was created to assess hydropower potential and a monitoring and accounting system for the water-energy-food-climate nexus was introduced to sustainably manage water resources and improve transboundary cooperation.
Replication activities were also initiated to prepare commercial opportunities for the consortium members, including planning activities for small hydropower projects with local investors.
Efforts were made to raise public awareness of Hydro4U through various channels. Further support was created within the consortium to promote the commercialization of the developed technologies, methods and tools.
Second reporting period:
During the second reporting period, the consortium continued to focus on site-specific design work and demonstration activities. Feasibility studies, sustainability assessments and detailed design plans were shared with local investors and contractors. Industrial partners Global Hydro Energy and Muhr began the procurement and manufacture of the technical equipment.
By the end of this period, the Francis container demonstration plant in Shakimardan was ahead of schedule. The powerhouse containers were delivered in January 2024 and commissioning was scheduled for July 2024. The Hydroshaft Power Solution in At-Bashy, Kyrgyzstan, was slightly behind schedule, with delivery of the equipment planned for September 2024. Construction work is scheduled from the end of August to November 2024.
Third reporting period:
During the third period, the Francis container power plant in Shakimardan was completed and commissioned, and ecological monitoring began. In addition, concrete construction of the HSPS in At-Bashy began in the fall of 2024. Furthermore, data was collected for the last two planning sites and feasibility studies were started (Suyok (Kyrgyzstan) and Yazgulom (Tajikistan)).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Through all of its phases, the Hydro4U project is characterized by innovation and sustainability.
In terms of technology, this is reflected in the two SHP solutions, with which a significant amount of the Central Asian potential can be developed in the future. They have been optimized for lower costs and less complexity - therefore for an easy implementation also in remote regions - but at the same time maintaining quality and environmental standards of the European Union.
But innovation goes further in Hydro4U and is also a major driver in the development of planning and assessment tools and methods, that haven´t been applied in Central Asia before.
This includes animal-friendly electrofishing for a representative assessment of prevailing fish fauna at the demonstration and planning sites, as well as radio-telemetry fish tagging, with the help of which the migration paths of fish can be better understood and the layout and operation of SHP can be optimized for ecological compatibility.
Also drone-based photogrammetric surveys were carried out, with the use of which the built and natural environment can be modeled with a high level of detail and serve as a basis for the application of further advanced planning methods, such as three-dimensional building-information-modeling.
With the focus on inclusion of local and regional stakeholders the project also proves its commitment to have a positive impact on Central Asian countries from a socio-economic perspective.
At both demonstration sites, local communities have been involved in the planning process and showed major interest in the successful implementation of these, as they expect to profit from them via increased energy security, labor possibilities, knowledge transfer and increased visibility.
Through the partnership with local companies for the implementation and later operation of the demonstration power plants, significant transfer of knowledge and the raise of awareness on environmental impacts of human development is achieved.
These local partners are learning from the consortium, that a sustainable and environmentally compatible development of hydropower potentials is crucial also for a long-term economic sustainability of their projects, even if national laws wouldn´t force them to focus on such issues in the same way as European standards request this. But the knowledge transfer is bi-directional, as also the consortium members learn from the local partners.
It is expected, that through the established partnerships, the gained experiences and the technical work in this project, the involved consortium members will reach an increasing visibility in the Central Asian hydropower market and will be able to enter these for further commercial projects in the future, building on the technologies, tools and methods established in Hydro4U.

Weir at At-Bashy demosite during survey work in Oct. 2022. Water diverted by upstream dam.

Hydro4U 2nd General Assembly in Tashkent in June 2022