Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Hydro4U (Hydropower For You - Sustainable small-scale hydropower in Central Asia)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-06-01 bis 2022-11-30
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.
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.
During the first part of the project, the major focus lied on data collection and the establishment of further partnerships in the region., with important stakeholder such as government bodies, authorities, NGOs, utilities, private project developers, farmers and the local residents.
A high quality database containing hydrological, topography, environmental and socio-economic information was established to build a solid basis for the forthcoming tasks.
The core of the Hydro4U project is the objective, to design, implement and assess two real-scale small hydropower plants.
Therefore, from the very beginning, the consortium members focused on selecting the best possible sites and local partners for a successful realization of these so-called demonstration activities.
In parallel to that, the two innovative technical solutions, that will be demonstrated within these activities had to be developed and optimized, so that at the end of the first project phase two innovative solutions were presented, which are both following a modular and scalable approach.
The Francis Container Power Solution (FCPS) will be demonstrated in the Uzbek enclave of Shakimardan in collaboration with state utility Uzbekgidroenergo. The Hydroshaft Power Solution (HSPS) will be demonstrated in the At-Bashi region of Kyrgyzstan in partnership with the private company Orion LLC.
Besides technology development, the consortium members have also implemented innovative tools and methods for planning and assessment, with the goal to establish their application in Central Asia and raise awareness on the importance of an environmentally compatible exploitation of hydropower potential. On a larger scale, the assessment of the hydropower potential has been started by creating a GIS-database containing all relevant information. In parallel to this, the elaboration of a Water-Energy-Food-Climate Nexus monitoring and accounting system has started, that is set to manage water resources in a sustainable way to share energy and agriculture benefits in a climate-sensitive manner and improve transboundary cooperation.
In order to enhance further developments, also replication activities have been started. The goal of these is to prepare further commercial possibilities for the consortium members already during the ongoing project. This is mainly done via the elaboration of a replication plan in close connection to the mentioned Hydropower Potential Assessment, including so-called planning activities. These represent bankable feasibility studies for small hydropower projects in collaboration with potential local investors.
Finally, a lot of effort was put into making the Hydro4U project visible for the public. Different digital and analog channels were established, in order to reach relevant stakeholders and the general public. Further exploitation support has been set up within the consortium, in order to enhance the commercialization of the developed technologies, methods and tools.
A high quality database containing hydrological, topography, environmental and socio-economic information was established to build a solid basis for the forthcoming tasks.
The core of the Hydro4U project is the objective, to design, implement and assess two real-scale small hydropower plants.
Therefore, from the very beginning, the consortium members focused on selecting the best possible sites and local partners for a successful realization of these so-called demonstration activities.
In parallel to that, the two innovative technical solutions, that will be demonstrated within these activities had to be developed and optimized, so that at the end of the first project phase two innovative solutions were presented, which are both following a modular and scalable approach.
The Francis Container Power Solution (FCPS) will be demonstrated in the Uzbek enclave of Shakimardan in collaboration with state utility Uzbekgidroenergo. The Hydroshaft Power Solution (HSPS) will be demonstrated in the At-Bashi region of Kyrgyzstan in partnership with the private company Orion LLC.
Besides technology development, the consortium members have also implemented innovative tools and methods for planning and assessment, with the goal to establish their application in Central Asia and raise awareness on the importance of an environmentally compatible exploitation of hydropower potential. On a larger scale, the assessment of the hydropower potential has been started by creating a GIS-database containing all relevant information. In parallel to this, the elaboration of a Water-Energy-Food-Climate Nexus monitoring and accounting system has started, that is set to manage water resources in a sustainable way to share energy and agriculture benefits in a climate-sensitive manner and improve transboundary cooperation.
In order to enhance further developments, also replication activities have been started. The goal of these is to prepare further commercial possibilities for the consortium members already during the ongoing project. This is mainly done via the elaboration of a replication plan in close connection to the mentioned Hydropower Potential Assessment, including so-called planning activities. These represent bankable feasibility studies for small hydropower projects in collaboration with potential local investors.
Finally, a lot of effort was put into making the Hydro4U project visible for the public. Different digital and analog channels were established, in order to reach relevant stakeholders and the general public. Further exploitation support has been set up within the consortium, in order to enhance the commercialization of the developed technologies, methods and tools.
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.
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.