Author(s): Atle Harby; Mauro Carolli; Markus Peter Foerst; Sahra Naima Sabil; Hakon Sundt

Linked Author(s): Atle Harby, Mauro Carolli, Håkon Sundt, Markus Peter Först

Keywords: Ecohydraulics; Hydropower; Modernization; Ecology; Sustainability

Abstract: To meet targets for climate change, energy transition towards renewable electricity generation is urgently needed. Most of the remaining feasible renewable energy potential is found in variable resources from wind and solar power. Hydropower with storage capacity is crucial to meet the need for in tegrating this variable renewable power generation into the grid, and there is a strong need for modernization of the European hydropower fleet to meet this challenge. At the same time, freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem services from rivers and lakes have seen a rapid decline in the last decades, where impacts from hydropower are one of the key drivers. Modernization of hydropower must therefore combine the needs for increased energy services and improving the ecological status of affected rivers and lakes. Modernization includes both increasing flexibility and storage options to meet new demands in the energy system as well as adapting to modern requirements to meet ecological targets as well as societal needs such as flood control and water management. We focus on some guiding principles and methods to achieve more sustainable hydropower generation, giving also some examples of how research and innovation are contributing to real cases of improving both hydropower generation and ecological status using ecohydraulics principles and tools. Examples from new developments in Norway for retrofitting existing hydropower infrastructure with pumped storage and capacity expansions in the EnviPump project will be given as well as examples from the EU-funded innovation and demonstration project ReHydro about sustainable refurbishment of hydropower.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64697/iahr.proc.ise2026.abs.292

Year: 2026