Harnessing untapped hydropower

Abstract

This paper discusses harnessing untapped hydropower worldwide. It focuses on sustainable generation portfolios and developments of new hydroelectric power plants in Canada; aspects of hydro development in south and southeast Asia; and exploitation and transmission of hydropower in southwest China. The author first reviews generation resources that are allowable in a sustainable generation portfolio in BC Hydro, and then considers testing for a sustainable generation portfolio. The author then discusses planned additions and retrofits of grid-connected generation in preparing for Manitoba's next generation power system, which has approximately 95% hydro and 5% thermal, including discussion of sustainable generation projects, cooperation, and possible partnerships. The central part of the paper discusses aspects of hydro developments in southeast Asia: history, regional hydro potential, characteristics of market power generation investment, preferential project configuration, environmental concerns, project scale, and the future. Then, the exploitation and transmission of hydropower from some very large projects in southwest China is discussed. Here, precipitation and topographical conditions, new large hydro plants for exploitation, and schemes for hydropower transmission for two large new power plants are reviewed.