Working Group 5

An urgent need for holistic assessment of hydropower using much improved stakeholders interaction realising all aspects of hydropower, not only technical (e.g., lifetime extension) or environmental (e.g. biodiversity, local climate change), but also societal (reception by residents) and financial (e.g., return of investment and reasonable profitability).

Tasks

T5.1 Evaluate economical balance of flexible production, industrial demands (e.g., Water-Energy nexus) and environmental impacts (global and local) while preserving dam safety in a changing climate.

T5.2 Investigate social acceptance and controversies related to (flexible) hydropower, develop new forms of public engagement and provide input to policy makers regarding new laws and regulations, climate strategies, and citizen participation processes.

T5.3 Proposals to improve the identified policy issues by exploiting results derived by WGs 1- 4 and considering future scenarios.

Activities

Integrating the WGs outcomes into policy strategies and roadmaps.

Cooperation among partners and stakeholders with European, national, regional and local hydropower operators.