© Jose Luis Vega _ Shutterstock

Manifesto : STOP new hydropower in Europe

Photo : Hydroelectric power station in Arribes del Duero called Mirador de Iberdrola in Salamanca © Jose Luis Vega _ Shutterstock.jpg

Alongside 150 NGOs, ERN signed a manifesto calling on Europe to stop supporting hydropower.
SEE HERE FOR THE FULL MANIFESTO AND LIST OF SIGNATORIES

To learn more, read below the WWF press release issued on Monday 26 October.

Following World Fish Migration Day, 150 NGOs have banded together to call on the EU institutions to end public financing for new hydropower projects in Europe.

Building more hydropower flies in the face of the European Green Deal’s biodiversity goals, given the small contribution new plants would bring to the energy transition weighted against the environmental damage they cause [1]. WWF, along with signatories such as Climate Action Network Europe and BirdLife ask for public investments to be redirected towards upgrades of existing plants, energy efficiency measures, and lower impact renewable energy alternatives like wind and solar power.  

The mobilisation by NGOs comes a few months after new analysis found that 93% of European freshwater migratory fish had been lost since 1970, partly due to hydropower [2]. While 91% of existing and planned plants in Europe are considered ‘small’ – meaning they have, a capacity below 10MW – and contribute little to the energy mix, their environmental impacts are dramatic.  If these plants go ahead, they will destroy Europe’s last free-flowing rivers and further degrade increasingly vulnerable freshwater ecosystems.

Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources, WWF European Policy Office said: “The European Commission and the European financial institutions’ continued financing of new hydropower projects completely contradicts the ambitions of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and its goal of restoring 25,000km of free-flowing rivers. Removing financing tools and incentives to new hydropower projects is an increasingly urgent step towards reversing biodiversity loss in the EU, meeting the targets set by the Water Framework Directive, and supporting the European Green Deal.”

Alex Mason, Senior Policy Officer, Climate & Energy, WWF European Policy Office added : “We urgently need to move to a 100% renewable energy system. But the contribution new hydropower could make is trivial compared to the massive ecological damage it would cause. We should be investing in wind and solar instead, combined with demand flexibility and storage.” 

The manifesto calls for:

  • An end to EU subsidising new hydropower plants of all sizes, including via regional policy and Projects of Common Interest funds.
  • An end to European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development financing for all new hydropower plants in Europe.
  • All new hydropower to be excluded from the list of renewable energies eligible for State Aid.
  • Public finance for new hydropower plants to be reallocated to ecological refurbishments, dam removal projects especially where the dams are now obsolete, and towards other renewable energies like wind and solar power.

SEE HERE FOR THE FULL MANIFESTO AND LIST OF SIGNATORIES

Notes to the editor:

[1] If all the 5,500+ planned hydropower plants in the EU were built, the share of the EU electricity generation provided by hydropower would go from 10% to 11.2-13.9%. Eurostat, 2017; EuroNatur, GEOTA, RiverWatch, WWF, Hydropower pressure on European rivers: The story in numbers, 2019.
[2] IUCN, WFMF, WWF, TNC, ZSL, The Living Planet Index (LPI) for migratory freshwater fish, 2020
[3] Mapping a faster route to zero emissions Europe

Contact:

Alexandra Chevalier
Senior Communications Officer, Water
achevalier@wwf.eu
+32 484 49 43 54

Claire Baffert
Senior Policy Officer, Water
cbaffert@wwf.eu
+32 492 73 10 92

DAM BUSTERS : Dam Removal Europe presents the trailer of its new film

DAM BUSTERS is the new film by Dam Removal Europe and the World Fish Migration Fundation about dam removal. Worldwide distribution, premiere expected in 2021.

Following the journey around the world of Pao Fernández Garrido, a Spanish engineer, the film sets out to meet the “river heroes”, women and men, in all continents in their passionate quest to restore rivers and ecosystems. Laura Wildman from the United States, Roberto Epple – Founding President of ERN-France, are among the film’s personalities.

France, the first country, along with the United States, to have carried out major dam removals since 1996, will be in the spotlight with the removal of the major dams on the Sélune and the partial removal of the Poutès dam on the Haut Allier.

 

A film from Francisco Campos Lopez, in collaboration with Magen Entertainment, LLC.

#DamRemovalEurope #DamRemovalGlobal #WorldFishMigrationDay #dam removal #RiverResotrationHeroes

Dam Removal Europe Webinar / Practitioners : recording available

You missed the July 1st the #DREpractitioners webinar. Check out the recording  on You tube.

On this occasion the participants were able to see live removal of a hydropower dam: Marieberg , Sweden and ask their questions to the project team about the removal process.

Hydropower dam: Marieberg , Sweden

This webinar was specifically geared towards practitioners and answered a variety of practical questions: What are the best methods for removing a dam? | What are some of the technical difficulties encountered when removing a dam in a protected area? | What if the dam has a high cultural heritage value? Does this affect how you remove it or how much of the barrier you can remove? | What do I have to take into consideration if there are exotic species dwelling within the river on either side of the dam? Drilling away at a dam may sound easy—what is there to understand? What is there to expect and take into consideration?

With news and presentations from the USA, UK, France, Spain and Sweden.  

more infos about Dam Removal Europe

Selune River comes alive upstream the Vezins Dam

One year after the complet emptying of the reservoir, the Selune river is already welcoming its new inhabitants. Jean-Marc Rousel from INRA tells us “1km upstream the former Vezins dam the river is breathing vigorously now, incredibly rich in habitats and many invertebrates species (stone flies, caddis flies, dragon flies…) and some fish too! In particular the Sculpin (Cottus gobio) has returned from upstream. The invasive American crayfish is also spreading from downstream… but its upcoming predator, the European eel, is waiting for its turn, below the second dam (La Roche-qui-boit), ready for ascending…”.

The Selune River, 1 km upstream from the Vezins dam © Jean-Marc Roussel – INRA

Dam Removal Europe publishes its 2020-2030 strategy

The goal that unites the Dam Removal Europe Partner (ERN is a co-founding member) since 5 years is the removal of obstacles in rivers, for free and living rivers. The movement, thanks to these partners with a rich diversity of skills from engineering and policy, conservation and field biology, to science, has grown rapidly and is now well established within European nature conservation.

As the Dam Removal Europe coalition expands and looks to the future, the team has created a strategy document outlining past, current and future goals for the upcoming decade. The mission aims to scale up the dam removal movement to all European countries and to help free Europe’s rivers from more than 100,000 obsolete and out-of -use barriers.

We know the benefits of dam removal (significant positive environmental impacts, cost effectiveness, support for job creation, etc.) and we want more people across Europe to know and choose this option for river restoration.

See our strategic report 2020 – 2030 which describes how we will increase our efforts and achieve our new goals.

 

More info see our DAM REMOVAL EUROPE page.

 

Poutès Dam on the Allier river : Deconstruction ongoing !

Remember, at the end of August 2019 the 3 sluice gates of the Poutès dam had been removed. This year the work program becomes even more interesting! The construction site was re-installed at the end of May and since July 1st you can see the machines attacking the civil engineering of the dam !

Weir partial removal on the right bank – July 2020 © EDF

This year, the 3 weirs and the 2 piers will be lowered and the footbridge removed. A notch on the left bank will be created and will allow the circulation of water, fish and sediments without hindrance until the summer of 2021 ! The devices for upstream and downstream migration will start to be modified to correspond to the new coasts and standards of the dam (digging under the elevator in particular).

All the details in the video below

The Allier has already recovered its natural profile, as shown by the photo taken in the old reservoir after the emptying.

Upstream of the Poutès dam (inside old reservoir), 11th of June, the Allier regains its natural character for ever © SOS Loire Vivante – ERN

On the 12 of June, a major flood occurred on the Allier (400m3/s at Poutès against 16m 3/s for the module), it crossed the dam without constraint. The warning systems of the Cristal network were effective. The works were suspended and the platform created to work at the foot of the Poutès dam could be evacuated in time without affecting the equipment or the men!

The June 12 flood passes the Poutes dam without constraint © EDF

More info on Poutes dedicated page

AMBER webinar on the 29th of June : register

On the 29th of June from 10:00 to 13:40, will take place the AMBER (Adaptive Management of Barriers in European Rivers) final webinar on Zoom plateforme. Over 800 confirmed attendees to date. The AMBER project unveils Europe’s first map of river barriers and what that means for the state of our rivers.

This webinar will include presentations from both the AMBER and FIThydro projects with 12 speakers from around Europe who will discuss river fragmentation and better ways to manage and mitigate barrier impacts. The programme is structured around facilitated discussions on three pressing topics: 1) the need to reconnect rivers; 2) the innovations, the tools and solutions available for better barrier management and 3) the applications, a framework for reconnecting Europe’s rivers.

full program

 register online  to attend

more infos on AMBER

Sélune: the work on the Vezins dam is coming to an end!

Since March, and in view of the health crisis, the Vezins works carried out by the DDTM 50 has been at a standstill. Only the central pier and the foundations remain today. With some delay, the work will resume until September so that the Sélune can finally be reopened. On the La Roche-qui-boit dam downstream, the only one remaining to date, EDF, the project manager for the site, will launch the sediment management work in June 2020. The final emptying of the reservoir is scheduled for April 2021 and the deconstruction of the dam at the end of 2021-early 2022.

>> More info on our dedicated pages

Europe unveils its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 : by 2030, the 27 will have to have freed up 25 000 km of rivers

On Wednesday 20 May, Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the Green Deal, and Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius unveiled the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Linked to the Green Deal, this strategy aims to halt the loss of terrestrial, lake and marine biodiversity.

Within this framework, strong announcements concern rivers and the restoration of ecological continuity. In 2021 the Member States will have to list the obstacles to the free movement of rivers and the restoration of flood plains. By 2030, the 27 will have to have freed up 25 000 km of rivers. The work of the NGOs, and the Dam Removal Europe coalition, to achieve these announcements has been effective.

With the Water Framework Directive (which we hope will be kept as ambitious by the European Commission despite the pressures – see our Living Rivers Europe page for more information) and now the Biodiversity Strategy and the Green Deal, all is there: the objectives, public policies and tools. So let’s get to work!

Link to the official communication of the European Commission

An overview of the Sélune conference by the AFB has just been published

The French Agency for Biodiversity has just published its latest issue :

– Effacement de barrages, Quand la Sélune reprend son cours, – 24 au 26 septembre 2019, Les Rencontres, OFB, n°70,  déc.2019, french
– Dam removal: The Sélune River free to run – 24 to 26 september 2019, Les Rencontres, OFB, n°70,  déc.2019, english

This 6-page issue is entirely devoted to the Sélune conference held from September 24 to 26 in Rennes and Avranches.

A more detailed 60-page book on the conference communications is also being prepared.