SEE HydroPower - targeted to improve water resource management for a growing renewable energy production
Abstract
Hydropower is the most important renewable resource for electricity production in the Southeast Europe (SEE) countries. It shows advantages for the global CO2 balance but creates ecological impacts in the river ecosystems on a local scale. Hydroelectric production has to be maintained and likely increased following the demand trend. EU countries must also increase their share of renewable electricity production according to the RES-e Directive of the European Union. This RES-e Directive aims to establish an overall binding target of 20% share of renewable energy sources in energy consumption and a 10% binding minimum target for bio fuels in transport to be achieved by each member state, as well as binding national targets by 2020 in line with the overall EU target of 20% in respect to the Kyoto protocol targets. However hydropower utilisation often causes severe hydrological changes, damages the connectivity of water bodies and injures river ecosystems. The WF Directive obliges member States to reach by 2015 a "good" ecological status in water bodies. Administrators in Southeast Europe face an increasing water demand, but lack reliable tools to evaluate the effects of water withdrawal on river systems. In addition competition between water users is becoming a serious problem, and there is a strong need of accurate planning and management optimization of water resources. The objectives of SEE HYDROPOWER are dealing with the promotion of hydro energy production in SEE countries and the optimization of water resource exploitation in a compatible way with other water users following environmental friendly approaches. The projects aim is a better utilisation of water concerning hydropower production in SEE countries, looking up to renewable energy sources development, preserving environmental quality and preventing flood risk. The main activities of the project are: * Methodologies and tools for a better water & hydropower planning and management, taking into account the environmental sustainability of natural resources and coping with climate change effects *Investigation of common strategies and methods for preserving river ecosystems in particular concerning aquatic ecosystems, considering the required Minimum Instream Flow (MIF), the macro-habitat quality, fish migration and related environmental issues *Assessment of strategies to improve hydropower implementation such as Small Hydro Power (SHP) and micro plants, which can be well distributed in the territory recovering the still remaining water power availability, using an “ecological” approach with less impact on the environment *Case studies in pilot catchments of partner countries Promotion and dissemination of project outcomes among target groups all over the SEE Region countries
keywords ecological status residual flow hydropower EU-WFD RES-e Directive
Publikationen
Assessment of common methodologies related to water quality and biological continuity, including river recovering
Autoren: Mielach, C; Schinegger, R; Schmutz, S; Zeiringer, B; Rechberger, A; Gasparetto, D; Cesca, M; Vianello, A; Saccardo, I; Santl, S; Kozelj, D; Bajcar, T; Kalogeroudi, I; Anixiadis, N; Grigoriadis, K; Trevlopoulos, S Jahr: 2012
Forschungsbericht (extern. Auftraggeber)
Strategy development for preserving river ecosystems in accordance with the WFD
Autoren: Mielach, C; Schinegger, R; Schmutz, S; Trautwein, C; Santl, S; Rechberger, A; Gasparetto, D; Cesca, M; Saccardo, I; Moldoveanu, A; Lazarine, A.T; Popa, B Jahr: 2012
Forschungsbericht (extern. Auftraggeber)
Habitat quality and ecological status assessment for running waters
Autoren: Mielach, C; Schinegger, R; Schmutz, S Jahr: 2012
Forschungsbericht (extern. Auftraggeber)
Report on habitat/ecological quality evaluation in the Piave (Italy) and Prut (Romania) basins
Autoren: Schinegger, R; Mielach, C; Zeiringer, B; Pinter, K; Schmutz, S; Cesca, M; Vianello, A Jahr: 2013
Forschungsbericht (extern. Auftraggeber)
Project staff
Stefan Schmutz
Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Stefan Schmutz
stefan.schmutz@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-81202
BOKU Project Leader
27.12.2010 - 31.10.2012
Rafaela Schinegger
Ass.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Rafaela Schinegger
rafaela.schinegger@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-85334
Project Staff
27.12.2010 - 31.10.2012
BOKU partners
External partners
Province of Belluno
none
partner
Prefecture of Serres Province
none
partner
Government of Styria – Special Department for Water Resources Management
none
partner
ARPA Veneto - Regional Land Safety Department
none
partner
Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico
none
partner
Technical University of Moldova
none
partner
Apele Romane
none
partner
University Politehnica of Bucharest
none
partner
Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning
none
partner
Graz University of Technology - Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management
none
partner
University of Ljubljana – Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering
none
partner