International Renewable Energy
Agency published RE costs data for 2019.

Costs of energy change 2010-2019

Hydropower’s share of global renewable energy capacity fell from 76% (925 GW) in 2010 to just under 47% in 2019. Global installed hydropower capacity (excluding pumped hydro) was 1 189 GW at the end of 2019. It is the only widespread non-fossil energy source for which both cost of construction and cost of electricity (LCOE) increased over past decade.

Solar
photovoltaic (PV) shows the sharpest cost decline over 2010-2019 at 82%,
followed by concentrating solar power (CSP) at 47%, onshore …

New Report of Save the Tigris Campaign

The Rivers without Boundaries is proud to announce publication of the first ever comprehensive report on dams in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, prepared by the Save the Tigris Campaign, which we are the happy participants of.

According to the UNDP, the water discharge of the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers is set to decrease by 50% between 2009 and 2025. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) which governs the KRI recognizes water security as a priority. To tackle the issues of climate change, upstream dam construction and mismanagement, the …

The new Sustainable Recovery Plan
released by the International Energy Agency in response to the Covid-19
pandemic and economic crisis being felt across the world has recommended hydropower
and nuclear reactor modernization as one of key policy measures. The plan seeks
to show governments what they can do to boost economic growth, create jobs and
put global greenhouse gas emissions into structural decline. It sets out over
30 policy measures to be carried out over the next three years requiring about
US$1 trillion of additional annual investment (from both the public and private
sectors).

Figure: Annual average …

The International Hydropower Association (IHA) published its 7th “Hydropower Status Report”. Report illustrates further decline of annually installed hydropower capacity, with “optimistic” estimate of only 15 GW added worldwide in 2019. We still tend to believe that the 12.5 GW figure from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is more accurate, because random check on the IHAs figures shows that to cheer-up report readership results for some countries were exaggerated: by 90 MW in Russia, by 250 MW in Ethiopia, and by 400 MW in Tajikistan, etc. However, our …

An interdisciplinary group of researchers was assembled to identify ‘frontier horizon’ environmental and social issues for the BRI. One hundred issues were initially submitted and “rapid destruction of natural river ecosystems” came out as the most pressing issue of all (although it is not very novel). Chinese companies and financiers have major role in developing water infrastructure all over the globe.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents the largest infrastructure and development project in human history, and presents risks and opportunities for ecosystems, economies, and communities. Some risks …

Six Actions proposed in “Bending the curve for freshwater: an emergency recovery plan”

by Jeff Opperman , WWF-US

Freshwater ecosystems and species are in crisis,
and 2020 is a pivotal year for countries and companies to take steps to solve
that crisis. What does this have to do with energy? A surprising amount. 

From hydropower dams that fragment rivers and block fish migration to
thirsty crops for biofuels that contribute to the depletion of water resources,
the energy sector has a significant impact on freshwater resources and
ecosystems—and thus must be a big part of …