In the lead up to COP21 in Paris, the Hydro Equipment Association (HEA) has published its Global Technology Roadmap blueprint for hydropower place in the energy mix and issued a call to action for national decision- and policy-makers around the world.

Hydropower is the world’s leading source of renewable energy – the HEA says not only can it help free a nation from fuel imports , it also plays a key role in integrating other variable renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar into national electrical grids because it is storable and flexible.

According to the HEA, to unlock the full potential value of hydropower, policy-makers must:

• Exploit untapped hydro potential to develop a low cost, renewable and almost greenhouse gas free source of electricity.
• Establish a framework that ensures a level playing field for all power technologies, that recognizes the amount of carbon emitted by the respective technology and speeds permitting procedures for hydropower.
• Facilitate hydropower development through public private partnerships, loan repayment terms that reflect the longevity of hydro projects, local training programs and streamlined licensing for refurbishment work.
• Reward hydropower for the full value of the ancillary services it brings to the system.
• Embrace the “Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol” to ensure viable and responsible hydropower development.

Today, 160 countries use hydro for power generation and for 35 of these countries hydropower provides at least 50% of their electricity supply. However, the HEA said that espite this widespread adoption of hydropower, less than 25% of the technical hydropower potential has been exploited – half of which is in Asia and 20% in Latin America.

“Mature yet modern, proven yet innovative, established yet full of potential this is hydropower as we know it,” said Dr. Roland Münch, President of the HEA. “Hydropower has a key role to play in helping national leaders supply their citizens with clean, sustainable and reliable electricity.”

The vast potential for hydropower has led the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to call for a 60% increase in hydropower to 1,600 GW by 2030 in its Remap 2030 – IRENA’s roadmap for doubling the global share of renewables in the world’s energy portfolio.

Hydropower is the ideal complement to variable renewable electricity generation because it can react faster than any other generation asset to changes in supply and demand. As more and more solar and wind capacity are added to electricity systems, large amounts of load can appear or disappear over short periods with little warning. In contrast, hydropower can balance supply and demand within seconds.

Pumped storage plants are further helping to integrate variable renewable energy sources into the grid by storing surplus renewable energy for use during peak demand and balancing wind and solar variability. Pumped storage plants are the only form of bulk energy storage technology that offers high efficiency and high capacity at low cost. According to HEA data, there is 146 GW of pumped storage installed globally as of the end of 2014.

Click here to download the HEA’s Global Technology Roadmap