Global Hydro Power Demand
The International Energy Agency believes that, by the year 2050, annual global hydropower capacities and generation should double to approximately 2,000 GW and 7000 TWH respectively.
There is new growth expected in both underdeveloped countries and industrialized countries, where upgrading or redeveloping existing plants will deliver additional benefits and efficiency and will mitigate the limiting factors of large-scale hydropower production.
Hydropower is being produced mostly by large generating plants; however, the environmental impact and bad press experienced by those plants in recent years will make it difficult for developers to build new large dams.
As a result, new investments are less likely due to the environmental concerns, regulatory hurdles and poor economics. Instead the push is towards smaller projects and/or refurbishment of the larger facilities.
Opportunities
Growth in smaller hydropower projects is more likely to occur considering;
- The new legislation approved in 2013 aimed at streamlining regulations for small hydropower projects
- Increased government investment in clean energy stemming from the awareness of climate change
- Generous feed in tariffs in Europe
The expectation is that large hydropower plants as a percentage of total capacity will decrease significantly by 2020, not due to waning efficiency, but rather the increased popularity of smaller plants.
One area of growth will be the increase of pumped storage systems used in existing plant sites for electrical energy storage (EES). According to Pike Research, the EES market grew from $329 million in 2008 to $4.1 billion by 2018.
Opportunities for the HPT Hammer
- Supply new hydroelectric generation
- Retrofit existing generators using less efficient systems
- Retrofit large dams with decommissioned systems
- Energy storage and recovery systems
- Supply Stand alone and grid independent primary power production for remote communities & industries
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