Strategic planning of hydropower development: balancing benefits and socioenvironmental costs

Rafael M Almeida; Rafael Jp Schmitt; Andrea Castelletti; Alexander S Flecker; Julien J Harou; Sebastian A Heilpern; Noah Kittner; G Mathias Kondolf; Jeff J Opperman; Qinru Shi; Carla P Gomes; Peter B Mcintyre

doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101175

Strategic planning of hydropower development: balancing benefits and socioenvironmental costs

Rafael M Almeida, Rafael Jp Schmitt, Andrea Castelletti, Alexander S Flecker, Julien J Harou, Sebastian A Heilpern, Noah Kittner, G Mathias Kondolf, Jeff J Opperman, Qinru Shi, Carla P Gomes, Peter B Mcintyre

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Hydropower continues to expand globally as the power sector transitions away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels. New dam sites vary widely in the magnitude of their adverse effects on natural ecosystems and human livelihoods. Here, we discuss how strategic planning of hydropower expansion can assist decision makers in comparing the benefits of building dams against their socioenvironmental impacts. Advances in data availability and computational analysis now enable accounting for an increasing array of social and environmental metrics at ever-larger spatial scales. In turn, expanding the spatial scale of planning yields more options in the quest to improve both economic and socioenvironmental outcomes. There remains a pressing need to incorporate climate change into hydropower planning. Ultimately, these innovations in evaluating prospective dam sites should be integrated into strategic planning of the entire energy system to ensure that social and environmental disruption of river systems is minimized.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	101175
Journal	Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
Volume	56
Early online date	22 Apr 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101175
Publication status	Published - 1 Jun 2022

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101175

GCRF: DAMS 2.0: Design and assessment of resilient and sustainable interventions in water-energy-food-environment Mega-Systems
Hulme, D. (PI), Anderson, K. (CoI), Bottacin Busolin, A. (CoI), Dimova, R. (CoI), Foster, T. (CoI), Harou, J. (CoI), Imai, K. (CoI), Larkin, A. (CoI), Lavers, T. (CoI), Mancarella, P. (CoI), Mutale, J. (CoI), Panteli, M. (CoI), Sen, K. (CoI) & Whittington, D. (CoI)
1/10/17 → 31/12/21
Project: Research
Water Stewardship Portal
Harou, J. (PI), Foster, T. (CoI) & Harris, A. (CoI)
1/05/17 → 30/04/20
Project: Research
Uncertainty reduction in Models For Understanding deveLopment Applications
Harou, J. (PI)
15/06/15 → 14/12/19
Project: Research

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Almeida, R. M., Schmitt, R. J., Castelletti, A., Flecker, A. S., Harou, J. J., Heilpern, S. A., Kittner, N., Mathias Kondolf, G., Opperman, J. J., Shi, Q., Gomes, C. P., & Mcintyre, P. B. (2022). Strategic planning of hydropower development: balancing benefits and socioenvironmental costs. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 56, 101175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101175

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title = "Strategic planning of hydropower development: balancing benefits and socioenvironmental costs",

abstract = "Hydropower continues to expand globally as the power sector transitions away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels. New dam sites vary widely in the magnitude of their adverse effects on natural ecosystems and human livelihoods. Here, we discuss how strategic planning of hydropower expansion can assist decision makers in comparing the benefits of building dams against their socioenvironmental impacts. Advances in data availability and computational analysis now enable accounting for an increasing array of social and environmental metrics at ever-larger spatial scales. In turn, expanding the spatial scale of planning yields more options in the quest to improve both economic and socioenvironmental outcomes. There remains a pressing need to incorporate climate change into hydropower planning. Ultimately, these innovations in evaluating prospective dam sites should be integrated into strategic planning of the entire energy system to ensure that social and environmental disruption of river systems is minimized.",

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Almeida, RM, Schmitt, RJ, Castelletti, A, Flecker, AS, Harou, JJ, Heilpern, SA, Kittner, N, Mathias Kondolf, G, Opperman, JJ, Shi, Q, Gomes, CP & Mcintyre, PB 2022, 'Strategic planning of hydropower development: balancing benefits and socioenvironmental costs', Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 56, pp. 101175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101175

TY - JOUR

T1 - Strategic planning of hydropower development: balancing benefits and socioenvironmental costs

AU - Almeida, Rafael M

AU - Schmitt, Rafael Jp

AU - Castelletti, Andrea

AU - Flecker, Alexander S

AU - Harou, Julien J

AU - Heilpern, Sebastian A

AU - Kittner, Noah

AU - Mathias Kondolf, G

AU - Opperman, Jeff J

AU - Shi, Qinru

AU - Gomes, Carla P

AU - Mcintyre, Peter B

PY - 2022/6/1

Y1 - 2022/6/1

N2 - Hydropower continues to expand globally as the power sector transitions away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels. New dam sites vary widely in the magnitude of their adverse effects on natural ecosystems and human livelihoods. Here, we discuss how strategic planning of hydropower expansion can assist decision makers in comparing the benefits of building dams against their socioenvironmental impacts. Advances in data availability and computational analysis now enable accounting for an increasing array of social and environmental metrics at ever-larger spatial scales. In turn, expanding the spatial scale of planning yields more options in the quest to improve both economic and socioenvironmental outcomes. There remains a pressing need to incorporate climate change into hydropower planning. Ultimately, these innovations in evaluating prospective dam sites should be integrated into strategic planning of the entire energy system to ensure that social and environmental disruption of river systems is minimized.

AB - Hydropower continues to expand globally as the power sector transitions away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels. New dam sites vary widely in the magnitude of their adverse effects on natural ecosystems and human livelihoods. Here, we discuss how strategic planning of hydropower expansion can assist decision makers in comparing the benefits of building dams against their socioenvironmental impacts. Advances in data availability and computational analysis now enable accounting for an increasing array of social and environmental metrics at ever-larger spatial scales. In turn, expanding the spatial scale of planning yields more options in the quest to improve both economic and socioenvironmental outcomes. There remains a pressing need to incorporate climate change into hydropower planning. Ultimately, these innovations in evaluating prospective dam sites should be integrated into strategic planning of the entire energy system to ensure that social and environmental disruption of river systems is minimized.

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DO - 10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101175

M3 - Article

SN - 1877-3435

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SP - 101175

JO - Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

JF - Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

ER -

Strategic planning of hydropower development: balancing benefits and socioenvironmental costs

Abstract

UN SDGs

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Projects

GCRF: DAMS 2.0: Design and assessment of resilient and sustainable interventions in water-energy-food-environment Mega-Systems

Water Stewardship Portal

Uncertainty reduction in Models For Understanding deveLopment Applications

Cite this