Predicting and mitigating environmental impacts of low head hydropower schemes

Lead Research Organisation: University of Brighton
Department Name: Sch of Environment and Technology

Abstract

The UK has an ambitious and legally-binding target to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 (relative to a 1990 baseline) as part of its commitment to limit its contribution to climate change. Achieving this target will require significant changes in how the UK sources its energy; reducing the use of fossil fuels and increasing the use of a mix of renewable technologies such as wind, solar, tidal and hydropower. The UK currently generates about 1.5% of its electricity from hydroelectric schemes, and although further large-scale development potential is limited, there is scope for exploiting small-scale and micro-hydropower resources (DECC, 2013). However, the potential impacts of such development on the environment and its stakeholders must be evaluated and minimised where possible. This NERC Policy Placement at the Environment Agency will gain a detailed understanding of the different areas of potential concern associated with the development of low head hydropower schemes through consulting with a wide range of stakeholders initiated by a project launch workshop event. External stakeholders may include representatives from rivers user groups (e.g. the Angling Trust, Canal & River Trust, Inland Waterways Association, National Association of Boat Owners, the British Canoe Union and the Ramblers Association), environmental bodies (e.g. Rivers Trusts, Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB, Natural England, English Heritage, Environment Agency, DEFRA), energy organisations (the National Grid, DECC), and the British Hydropower Association. The understanding gained through consultation with stakeholders will be used to inform a life-cycle analysis that compares the environmental impacts of low-head hydropower schemes against all other forms of electricity generation across a comprehensive list of factors (global warming potential, land footprint, water footprint, abiotic depletion potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, aquatic ecotoxicity potential), including those factors identified through consultation with stakeholders. Systematic and transparent data and literature searches will be used, as recommended in Dr Bilotta's recent open-access publications co-authored by Defra's Chief Scientific Advisor (Bilotta et al., 2014a;b), to ensure that the findings of the life-cycle analysis are traceable and can be updated in light of improvements in the technologies which can occur rapidly. This comparative life-cycle analysis will enable stakeholders and policy-makers to make a better informed decision about the relative merits and drawbacks of different forms of electricity generation on their respective areas of concern. The project will also identify specific design and siting aspects of low head hydropower schemes that are associated with the most and the least environmental impacts, through collating and statistically-analysing existing monitoring data collected routinely in England and Wales as good practice (Environment Agency, 2014), before and after installation of hydropower facilities. This analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and used, where appropriate, to update the good practice guidelines on hydropower development (Environment Agency, 2014). Ultimately, these guidelines will be used to optimise the design of future hydropower schemes in England and Wales, to minimise their impact and maximise their environmental and social sustainability.

References:
Bilotta, G. S., Milner, A. M., & Boyd, I. (2014a). On the use of systematic reviews to inform environmental policies. Environmental Science & Policy, 42, 67-77.
Bilotta, G. S., Milner, A. M., & Boyd, I. L. (2014b). Quality assessment tools for evidence from environmental science. Environmental Evidence, 3(1), 1-14.
DECC (2013) https://www.gov.uk/harnessing-hydroelectric-power
Environment Agency (2014) https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hydropower-schemes-guidelines-and-applying-for-permission
 
Description This NERC Policy Placement, co-funded by the Environment Agency, involved an investigation into the effects of small-scale run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on biological communities in streams and rivers, to better understand how these increasingly widespread sources of renewable power may influence freshwater ecology.

According to recent forecasts electricity generation from renewables globally could nearly triple between 2010 and 2035, reaching 31% of total generation, with half of this from hydroelectric power. The contemporary methods used to generate hydroelectric power (HEP) are often site-specific and tailor-made to local conditions, but by far the greatest proportion of global HEP comes from large-scale storage-type schemes whereby rivers are dammed to create reservoirs. The environmental effects of such large-scale storage schemes have been well-documented in the literature. In Europe, it is the knowledge of these potential impacts, together with the recognition that most opportunities for economically-profitable and politically-acceptable medium- to large-scale schemes have already been developed, that has caused attention to turn to smaller-scale HEP opportunities, particularly run-of-river schemes, to help meet renewable energy targets.

Run-of-river (ROR) schemes are HEP schemes that operate without water storage; using the flow within a river channel. Channel obstructions, typically pre-existing weirs, are normally used to regulate water levels, allowing a proportion of flow to be diverted down a secondary channel to a turbine before it is returned to the main channel further downstream. Run-of-river HEP schemes have been found to have a life-cycle water footprint per unit of electricity generated that is close to zero, and life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions per unit of electricity generated that are significantly lower than from other power sources. However, there is currently a lack of peer-reviewed studies on the physical and ecological impact of ROR HEP schemes. There is, therefore, a need to improve current understanding of the potential impacts of such schemes.

The aim of this Environment Agency research project was to address this research gap, focussing on investigation of the effects of ROR HEP schemes on communities of fish and invertebrates in temperate streams and rivers.

The study made use of routine environmental surveillance data collected as part of long-term national and international monitoring programmes at systematically-selected ROR HEP schemes and systematically-selected paired control sites. Six metrics of fish community composition and six metrics of invertebrate community composition were analysed. The results show that there are some small effects on biological community composition. Howevver, the biological communities studied exhibited substantial variability both among sites and over time within sites. Part of this temporal variation is likely to be associated with natural biological cycles and stochastic events, part of the variation may also be associated with the precision of the survey techniques. The resultant variability of the metrics influences the power of statistical tests (i.e. probability of correctly detecting a statistically-significant effect when one exists). Statistical power analysis of this study revealed that the probability of correctly detecting a statistically significant effect, for the magnitude of effect sizes observed in this study, was relatively low in some cases. Nevertheless, the results from the power analysis can be used to guide future studies to ensure that they are designed to maximise their statistical power.

In this study different types of ROR HEP schemes were grouped together, regardless of design features such as turbine type, power capacity, or hydraulic head. The authors recognise that different scheme designs may have different biological impacts, but we were unable to conduct any sub-analysis owing to the limited number of replicates of each scheme type and thus the limited statistical power. It is recommended that a follow-on study is conducted, collating data from further sites, to enable a sub-analysis for ROR HEP scheme design. This type of analysis could help to inform potential improvements to the best-practice guidance for ROR HEP scheme design to minimise their potential impact.
Exploitation Route The research findings are particularly pertinent in the UK and Europe, where there has been a recent surge in run-of-river hydroelectric power development, stimulated by financial subsidies from European and national renewable energy policies and legislative targets, at the same time as a legislative requirement for all waterbodies to reach 'good ecological status' under the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).

The research findings could help to inform potential improvements to (1) the future monitoring of environmental impacts from electricity generation technologies, and (2) the best-practice guidance for run-of-river hydroelectric power scheme design to minimise their potential impact.
Sectors Education

Energy

Environment

Government

Democracy and Justice

URL https://www.brighton.ac.uk/aquatic/research-projects/environmental-impacts-of-small-scale-hydroelectric-power-schemes.aspx
 
Description The research findings are particularly pertinent in the UK and Europe, where there has been a recent surge in run-of-river hydroelectric power development, stimulated by financial subsidies from European and national renewable energy policies and legislative targets, at the same time as a legislative requirement for all waterbodies to reach 'good ecological status' under the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). The research findings could help to inform potential improvements to (1) the future monitoring of environmental impacts from electricity generation technologies, and (2) the best-practice guidance for run-of-river hydroelectric power scheme design, to minimise their potential impact.
First Year Of Impact 2016
Sector Education,Energy,Environment
Impact Types Policy & public services

 
Description Conference presentation at the 10th Symposium of European Freshwater Sciences (July 2017). 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Conference presentation at the 10th Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (July 2017) hosted in the Czech Republic. The title of this conference presentation was 'The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on fish and invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers'.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.sefs10.cz/
 
Description Invited speaker at the British Hydropower Association's Summer Forum 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Invited as a speaker at the British Hydropower Association's Summer Forum; A broad industry cross-section bringing together industry professionals, experts and some of hydropower's leading practitioners.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.british-hydro.org/news/save_the_date__the_bha_summer_forum_and.html
 
Description Invited speaker at the Natural Environment Research Council's Renewable Energy Showcase 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact NERC has funded a wide range of research and innovation projects to support the development of renewable energy over the past five years. Many of these projects are drawing to a close or have recently ended - however, new environmental challenges are emerging across all the renewable energy sectors.

This one-day conference, brought to you by NERC and the Knowledge Transfer Network, showcased the R&D funded across the NERC land based and marine research programmes together with projects funded with Innovation/Discovery science funding in the renewable energy sector.

The conference brought together industry, academia, investors and policy makers to showcase the challenges and opportunities of renewable energy and helped to identify future priorities for innovation and strategic research programmes.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.nerc.ac.uk/latest/events/list/renewables2016/