OF HYDROPOWER AND STREAMS

Transcription

1 OF HYDROPOWER AND STREAMS A tale of run-of-river hydropower facilities and their possible impacts on fish populations The impacts of run-of-river hydropower on the physical and ecological condition of rivers Anderson et al, 2014 (Water and Environment Journal)

2 2

3 3 IPCC, 2014

4 Clean Energy Act (Library of Parliament, 2010) 93% electricity in BC will be from renewable sources Decrease greenhouse gas emissions 2020: <33% than emissions From left to right: KidHydro, Circuit, KidWind, KidSolar and KidKinetic (Created by Michael Arquin)

5 5 KidHydro!!

6 Summary What is run-of-river hydropower (ROR)? Impacts of dams vs. ROR Evidence of impacts Mitigation opportunities Landscape planning 6

7 High-Head Schemes 7 Gower et al., 2012

8 Large Dams (Reviewed from Alexandra, Neal and Emily) Large ecosystem Altered flow Altered thermal regime Barriers Alterations to long-term sediment flow (Yang et al, 2006) Run-of-River (Anderson et al., 2014) Smaller ecosystem Semi-natural flow Natural thermal regime Barriers Alterations to sediment flow (Csiki & Rhoads, 2013)

9 Environmentally friendly (Abbasi & Abbasi, 2011) International Energy Agency depending on best practices and effective site planning Impact/kWhr ROR typically smaller, less power generated 9

10 No Consensus on Effects (Anderson et al., 2014) Decrease in fish # No effect on fish community There was an effect on community Decreased biomass Shift from adult to juvenile fish Smaller fish upstream Barrier/delay for fish migration 10

11 No Consensus on Effects (Robson et al., 2011) Fish data for 10 streams 2 dams had negative impacts Upstream: Decrease in adult density, but increase in juvenile density Decrease abundance of salmon ESSA Independent review (Conners et al., 2014) Likely effects in BC Upstream: entrainment; loss of lotic habitat Diversion: altered sediment flow; decreased habitat; fast ramping rates No evidence of impacts on salmon abundance Evidence of decreased growth and rearing success 11

12 Why no consensus?? (Anderson et al., 2014; Conners et al., 2014; Robson et al, 2011) Poor monitoring design No design at all No control reach No before/after comparison 12

13 Mitigation (Anderson et al., 2014) Instream flow requirements Fish passes and screens Retrofit old dams More loticity (concentrate water removal) Sediment flow, organic matter Increase installation of fish ladder FISH CANNON Fish goes in Fish goes out 13

14 DFO Requirements (Province of British Columbia, 2014) Minimum instream flow for fish and fish habitat ROR above anadromous salmon or endangered species habitat Water increase/decrease don t cause stranding Entrainment isn t possible 14

15 More research and planning(anderson et al., 2014) Research on ROR Baseline data BACI designs Better understanding of ecosystem processes Cumulative impacts of multiple schemes Framework for planning landscape level (Jaccard et al., 2011; Finer and Jenkins, 2012) 15

16 $66/MWh $447/MWh $1095/MWh $2752/MWh $8527/MWh Existing RoR 16 SFU, unpublished data

17 17 Gower et al. 2012

18 Species occurrence Areas where = agree/conflict with management priorities + 18 ROR footprint

19 Minimize Overlap with Salmon N=67 19

20 Minimize Overlap with High Angler Value N=41 20

21 Minimize Overlap with Species at Risk N=42 21

22 Minimize Cost of Energy N= GWh/yr 22

23 Optimize all N= GWh/yr 23

24 What now? Shift to renewables ROR may have impacts Research lacking Landscape planning needed 24

25 Discussion Do you think it is ethical/responsible to develop this technology without much ecological knowledge? Large dams RoR 25

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27 Discussion What are some advantages/disadvantages of landscape development approach? 27

28 Discussion Knowing that everything moves downstream, how do we feel about sacrificing a portion of streams at the headwaters? 28

29 Discussion Which is better? Large dam RoR 29

30 Discussion How does region play into considerations for risks involved in ROR implementation?

31 References Abbasi, T., Abbasi, S Small hydro and the environmental implications of its extensive utilization. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15: Anderson, D., Moggridge, H., Warren, P. and Shucksmith, J The impacts of run-of-river hydropower on the physical and ecological condition of rivers. Water and Environment Journal (Early view). DOI: /wej Caudill, C., Keefer, M., Clabough, T., Maughton, G., Burke, B., and Peery, C Indirect effects of impoundment on migrating fish: Temperature gradients in fish ladders slow dam passage by adult chinook salmon and steelhead. PlosOne.\ 8 (12): e85586 Conners, B., Marmorek, D., Olson, E., Hall, A., de la Cueva Bueno, P., Bensen, A., Bryan, K., Perrin, C., Parkinson, E., Abraham, D., Alexander, C., Murray, C., Smith, R., Grieg, L., and Farrell, G Independent review of run-of-river hydroelectric projects and their impacts on salmonid species in British Columbia. 157 pages + xiv. Csiki, S., and Rhoads, B Influence of four run-of-river dams on channel morphology and sediment channel morphology and sediment characteristics in Illinois, USA. Geomorphology 206: Finer, M. and Jenkins, C. (2012). Proliferation of hydroelectric dams in the Andean Amazon and imlications for Andes-Amazon connectivity. PLoS ONE 7(4): e35126

32 References Gower, T., Rosenberger, A., Peatt, A., and Hill, A Tamed rivers: A guide to river diversion hydropower in British Columbia. Prepared for Watershed Watch Salmon Society. 64 pages. IPCC, Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R. K. Paschauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pages. Jaccard, M., Melton, N., Nyboer, J Institutions and processes for scaling up renewables: Run-of-river hydropower in British Columbia. Energy Policy 39: Library of Parliament, Bill 17: Clean Energy Act. 1 st reading, 2 nd session. Ottawa, Parliament of Canada. Province of British Columbia, Clean energy production in B.C.: An inter-agency guidebook for project development. Robson, A., Cowx, I., and Harvey, J Impact of run-of-river hydro-schemes upon fish populations. Final report. SNIFFER WFD114, Edinburgh, Scotland. Yang, Z., Wang, H., Saito, Y., Milliman, J., Xu, K., Qiao, S., and Shi, G Dam impacts on the Changjiang (Tangtze) River sediment discharge to the sea: The past 55 years and after the Three Gorges Dam. Water Resources Research 42 (4): 1 10