The word “hydro” originally comes from a Greek word that meant water. Over the course of centuries, the human kind has learned to discover the many facets of water that could help to facilitate their daily tasks. From agriculture to sea traveling water is an omnipresent element that has become a real asset for mankind. In 1752, with the discovery of electricity, little did Benjamin Franklin know that he had just found a new task for water. Water could now serve a new an important function: hydropower that creates hydroelectricity. Back in the days, the ancients used hydropower to grind flour or perform other daily tasks around the house. Since those long gone days, hydroelectricity has become a viable resource to produce power for industries and entire cities. Hydroelectricity is a renewable form of energy that is less wasteful and creates almost no pollution. Yet, there is a serious negative aspect that needs to be considered: almost all hydroelectric installations have had negative impacts on the nearby environment and the natural habits of the fauna and flora. Hydro-Québec is the example of a leading firm in hydroelectricity that is also committed to the development of a long-term development strategy.
How it Works
The principle behind hydropower is quite simple: a dam is built to trap water in a location with an already existing wetland. Through the simple principle of gravity, water flows down the tunnels in the dam and reaches the turbines that consequently activate the generators. “The kinetic energy of the moving water is turned into mechanical energy as it makes the turbine spin around. The turbine is connected via a shaft to the magnets which in turn spin around inside the coils of a conductor” (Source: http://www.hydro.com.au/handson/students/hydrelec.htm).
The higher the height of the water fall the greater the pressure on the turbine that provides more energy to the turbine. Once the actual dam is built this system provides energy that is virtually free and most importantly renewable. This form of “natural” energy is much more reliable than other alternative energies like wind or solar energy. With water, energy can be produced and generated constantly without any problems.
On the down side, the dams are very expensive to build and when a large infrastructure is built, “the dam will flood a very large area upstream, causing problems for animals” (Source: http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/hydro.htm).
Inter national Hydropower Association
International Hydropower Association (IHA) is a non-governmental association of organizations and individuals from more than 50 countries. Its membership is open to anyone working in the hydropower filed. The IHA “addresses the role of hydropower in meeting the world’s growing water and energy needs as a clean, renewable and sustainable technology” (Source: http://www.hydropower.org/about_iha/introduction.html). This association aims at involving energy stakeholders in order to build consensus around the necessity of a cheap and sustainable form of energy. The IHA provides a comprehensive list of sustainability guidelines in order to provide valid advice and recommendations that can be applied by businesses, consumers or civil society. They encourage governments to work closely with firms and businesses that work in hydroelectricity in order to develop a two way communication process and collaboration with the scope of safeguarding the environment and causing the less damage possible for the environment. IHA encourages governments to implement regional and national energy policy norms that are elaborated in compliance with a “Strategic Assesment” (SA), “a mechanism by which sustainable development and global trends concerning environmental goals can be reconciled with the management and conservation of natural resources” (Source: http://www.hydropower.org/downloads/IHA%20Sustainability%20Guidelines_Feb04.pdf).
In the past years a lot of research and analysis has been done in order to achieve a better understanding of the environmental impact of hydropower plants. Legislations have been changed and implemented in order to assure the long-term sustainability of this clean and renewable form of energy.
The Hydro-Québec Case
Hydro-Québec is one of the leading producers of hydroelectricity in North America. This company “generates, transmits and distributes electricity, mainly using renewable energy sources and also conducts research in energy-related fields” (Source: http://www.hydroquebec.com/profile/glance.html). Since 1989, Hydro-Québec adopted principles of sustainable development following the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. The company’s sustainable development is based on three central pillars: economy, society and environment. According to its website, the company is taking measures to preserve traditional Aboriginal activities and is also working to preserve aquatic habitats affected by the dam. An important aspect of the company is that Hydro-Québec “exports its surpluses in hydroelectricity to neighboring markets, substituting for their local output, which is mainly thermal. Between 2001 and 2009, Hydro-Québec exports prevented the emission of 39 million tones of greenhouse gases” (Source: http://www.hydroquebec.com/sustainable-development/themes/index.html).
Water itself is contributing to the long-term sustainability of our environment since it is the key element in the process of hydroelectricity; a system that produces clean and renewable energy. On the negative side, the construction of such infrastructure poses serious consequences to the surrounding natural environment flooding the area and breaking the stability of the local ecosystems. Many initiatives, laws and new legislation have been put in place in order to maximize the advantages of a clean and renewable resource like hydroelectricity; while trying to minimize the direct threats and risks for the environment.
