Water Power and Dam Construction. Issue November 2010
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INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION NOVEMBER 2010
NOVEMBER 2010
Serving the hydro industry for over 60 years
The World Commission on Dams – 10 years on
Focus on pumped storage
The World Commission on Dams – 10 years on
Compact solution
Pilot installation for new turbine technology
INTERNATIONAL
& DAM CONSTRUCTION
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NOVEMBER 2010
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INTERNATIONAL
& DAM CONSTRUCTION
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CONTENTS
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DAM
ENGINEERING
ModernPowerSystems
COMMUNICATING POWER TECHNOLOGY WORLDWIDE
COVER: Read more about
CleanPower’s installation of the
Turbinator unit at Hegset Dam in
Norway on p22
26
30
22
10
38
PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
40
WORLD MARKETPLACE
REGULARS
4
WORLD NEWS
9
DIARY
FEATURES
WORLD COMMISSION ON DAMS - 10 YEARS ON
10
Water under the bridge
Sue Pritchard spoke to many of those involved in the
WCD report and asks whether it’s still topical today or
whether its all just water under the bridge. She also
discovered what people would like to see happen over
the next 10 years
14
Facing reality on dam development
ICOLD President Jia Jingsheng comments on the WCD
report and urges all industry members to consolidate
their thinking to solve current and future challenges
PUMPED STORAGE
16
Five in focus – new pumped storage schemes
Details on pumped storage schemes under development
or recently commissioned worldwide, including Ingula,
Limmern, Limberg II, Nant de Drance and Dnestrovskaya
20
Old concept, new opportunities
The conventional benefits of pumped storage, coupled
with its modern application of integration with
intermittent renewable energy technologies, are fuelling
its development
NEW HYDRO DEVELOPMENT
22
Installing the Turbinator
Details on the pilot installation of CleanPower’s
Turbinator unit at Hegset Dam in Norway, an axial
turbine and generator in a compact and sealed machine
REHABILITATION
26
Historic beacon of green power
An insight into the rehabilitation of the Stuyvesant Falls
hydro project in New York state, US, scheduled for
completion in late 2011
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
30
Sayano Shushenskaya accident – presenting a
possible direct cause
The cause of a fatal accident that occurred on 17 August
2009 at the Sayano Shushenskaya Dam and powerhouse
in Southern Siberia has never fully been revealed. In this
peer-reviewed paper, F A Hamill presents a hypothesis
of the underlying direct cause of the accident
4 NOVEMBER 2010 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
WORLD NEWS
T
HE UK GOVERNMENT SAYS
it will not give its backing to
a £30B tidal energy scheme
because it considers the costs and
risks of the project to the taxpayer
and energy consumer to be too high.
The Severn Tidal Power scheme
could provide up to 5% of the UK’s
electricity needs and make a major
contribution to the country’s renew-
able energy targets, but the publi-
cation of a feasibility study into the
project by the government reveals
that other low-carbon energy tech-
nologies would be a better option.
The results of the feasibility study
have been published alongside the
launch of a consultation on the
new government’s revised national
policy statements on energy, and
a package of announcements on
nuclear energy in the UK.
“I’m fed up with the stand-off
between advocates of renewa-
bles and of nuclear which means
we have neither,” said UK Energy
Secretary Chris Huhne. “We urgently
need investment in new and diverse
energy sources to power the UK.
We’ll need renewables, new nuclear,
fossil fuels with CCS, and the cables
to hook them all up to the grid as a
large slice of our current generating
capacity shuts down.
“The market needs certainty to
make this investment happen, and
we are determined to clear every
obstacle in the way of this pro-
gramme.”
The feasibility into the Severn
Tidal scheme says that there is
no strategic case for major public
sector investment in a large-scale
energy project in the Severn estuary.
“It would be very costly to deliver
and very challenging to attract the
necessary investment from the pri-
vate sector alone,” the government
said in a statement.
The Severn Tidal scheme was
given backing by the govern-
ment’s Sustainable Development
Commission in 2007 but it remains
controversial because of its poten-
tial impact on sh stocks and the
internationally important marsh and
mudat habitats of the Severn estu-
ary. Five potentially viable projects
have been proposed and studied by
the government, including a 10-mile
barrage scheme running from
Weston-super-Mare to Cardiff.
The government has not ruled out
resurrecting the Severn scheme if
factors that determine the feasi-
bility of the scheme change over
time, but says that it will not review
it again until 2015 at the earliest.
It has called for a “surge” in invest-
ment in new energy sources.
The government’s revised draft
national policy statements on
energy show that it expects over
half the new energy generating
capacity built in the UK by 2025
to come from renewable sources,
with a “signicant proportion” of
the remainder coming from low
carbon sources such as nuclear
and fossil fuels with carbon cap-
ture and storage.
At least one-quarter of the UK’s
electricity generating capacity needs
to be replaced by 2020.
UK Govt backs out of Severn Barrage...
MWH signs contract extension with BC Hydro
E
NGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION
and consulting firm MWH has
signed a one-year extension
with BC Hydro as part of a Project
Management Services Partnership
(PMSP) contract. MWH will continue
as part of an integrated BC Hydro and
MWH team to provide project leader-
ship, design management expertise
and project ofce support during the
implementation of three of BC Hydro’s
major capital improvement projects at
hydropower facilities.
Beginning in 2008, BC Hydro faced
a major challenge to make substan-
tial investment in new and renovated
dams, hydroelectric, and transmis-
sion and distribution infrastructure.
To meet this demand and enhance
delivery of its capital projects, BC
Hydro hired MWH to create a capital
improvement delivery platform. As part
of the contract, BC Hydro and MWH
established an integrated team that
includes business governance and
project planning and controls groups
to implement best project manage-
ment practices on three major capi-
tal improvement projects: John Hart,
Ruskin and Upper Columbia.
“We’re condent that the improve-
ments to BC Hydro’s new capital
delivery capability, including knowl-
edge, processes and tools will yield
real benefits in the years ahead,”
said Chris O’Riley, executive vice
president of the Engin e ering,
Aboriginal Relations and Generation
Division of BC Hydro. “MWH has
supplied very knowledgeable, capa-
ble people who have worked in our
organization to get things done. We
particularly like the way BC Hydro
staff and MWH staff have integrated
in programmatic delivery to add capa-
bility and capacity and to transfer
knowledge.”
The contract between MWH and
BC Hydro includes three phases of
programmatic delivery engagement
spanning three years: planning,
establishment and implementation.
The contract extension is part of the
implementation phase and will cover
activities through 30 June 2011.
“MWH is thrilled at the opportunity
to continue working to improve the
delivery of BC Hydro’s capital improve-
ment projects,” said Bruce Howard,
president of MWH Business Solutions
Group, the strategic consulting arm
of MWH. “We look forward to growing
this collaborative team and partici-
pating in the ongoing enhancements
and knowledge sharing practices that
enable employees of BC Hydro and
MWH to work together to successfully
deliver projects.”
...extends support for small hydro
C
LIMATE CHANGE MINISTER
Greg Barker has announced
that former mills and water tur-
bines which are brought back to life in
the UK will now be eligible for nancial
support under the UK Government’s
feed-in tariff scheme.
During a visit to the Torrs Hydro
scheme in New Mills, Peak District,
Barker announced that old water-
wheels and turbines will receive a
lifeline as Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) will
now support “remanufactured as
new” hydro equipment.
To help drive forward the ambi-
tious new plan, the Department of
Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
is also launching the new hydro-
power help guide, prepared by the
Environment Agency, which offers
advice to groups looking to use the
power of local streams, weirs or
rivers to cut emissions and generate
new income for their areas.
“I’m calling on communities
across the UK to harness the power
of their rivers and streams to gen-
erate electricity and money. The
community of New Mills in the Peak
District are already doing this,” said
Barker. “When it comes to the UK’s
performance on renewables there’s
much more to do and hydropower
is currently a missed opportunity.
There is more to renewable energy
than just large wind turbines. We
need to unlock the clean energy of
our past as well as the future.
“To do that we need to make it
easy and attractive for local people
to revive our traditional waterways
and help produce more local clean
energy,” he added. “This hydro
help guide will give clear informa-
tion on how to get new schemes up
and running. I also want to see old
mills and turbines brought back to
life, some of which were operating
in the 1940s and 1950s before the
National Grid existed. “
Currently hydropower in the UK is
generating the equivalent of 1.4% of
electricity demand with a potential
to contribute up to a further 1%–
enough to power the equivalent of
one million homes. In the last two
years alone the EA have seen a
12-fold increase in applications for
hydropower permits.
Torrs Hydro is a community
share scheme supported by local
action group, H2OPE and the Co-op
Community Fund. The community
group of 230 members invested
over £125,000 and then raised the
remainder of the scheme’s full cost
(£330,000) from community bank
loans and grants. The scheme earns
an income from the energy exported
to the local Co-op supermarket.
Similar schemes put in place
from the end of October could cal-
culate how much they would earn
from FITs, with any exported energy
delivering an additional income
from FITs.
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM NOVEMBER 2010 5
WORLD NEWS
E
NGINEERING AND CONSTRUC-
TION group SNC-Lavalin has
signed a $587M contract
to design and build the Waneta
Expansion, a 335MW hydro-
electric power facility on the Pend
d’Oreille River just south of Trail,
in the Canadian province of British
Columbia.
The project mandate, which
includes engineering, design and con-
struction of the facility, the supply,
installation and commissioning of two
turbine-generator units, all balance
of plant equipment and power trans-
formers, and a 230 kV gas insulated
switchgear (GIS) building for the new
power facility, will require extensive
environmental management plans,
including special measures for the
protection of sturgeon.
Engineering and construction work
is already underway and the new
facility is expected to go into com-
mercial operation in spring 2015.
The project – which is being under-
taken through a limited partner-
ship of Fortis Inc, Columbia Power
Corporation (CPC) and Columbia
Basin Trust (CBT) – will be booked
in SNC-Lavalin’s backlog during the
fourth quarter.
“We have been involved in all
three expansion projects in the
region; the 185MW Arrow Lakes
Generating Station, the 120 MW
Brilliant Expansion Project and now
the Waneta Expansion Project,”
said Patrick Lamarre, Executive Vice-
President, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
“We are excited to continue our rela-
tionship with CPC and CBT and look
forward to working with Fortis Inc. and
to further expand our existing hydro
expertise in British Columbia as part
of our green energy plan.”
SNC-Lavalin to work
on Waneta Expansion
From the Editor
Dear readers,
Were you aware that it’s been ten years since the
publication of the World Commission on Dams Report?
It’s almost hard to believe that a decade has passed
since the industry was presented with this much
talked about publication. Although I wasn’t editor
of this esteemed journal when the report came out,
I joined the publication shortly afterwards and was
only too aware of the intense debate that surrounded
this landmark publication. Our contributing editor,
Sue Pritchard, actually held the reigns of IWP&DC in
November 2000 and she remembers well the views
of both the supporters and critics of the report. In her
article on p10, she describes the sense of expectation,
maybe even nervousness emanating throughout the
industry. Speculation was rife – as it had been since the
establishment of the commission in 1998. What would
the report do? And how seriously would it be taken – by
the dam industry and dam opponents?
I don’t think anyone could have predicted just how
great a backlash there was against the report, with
many describing it as ‘anti-dam’ and an overly complex
and unimplementable document. Others, on the other
hand, welcomed it rights and risk approach.
Because of the continued debate on this ‘infamous’
publication, the IWP&DC team thought it would be
interesting to revisit the report and see what impact
it has had over the last 10 years. We talked to many
of those involved in the publication and asked their
opinions on the report’s impacts – and what they
would like to see happen over the next 10 years. The
responses were very interesting, in particular the
view that more efforts should be made to listen to
local stakeholders and promote local development,
in addition to national development, with such
stakeholders having the opportunity to become involved
in the planning and evaluation processes of dam
construction much earlier. Kadar Asmal, former chair of
the Commission, suggested that perhaps its time for a
fresh look at the big dams debate.
You can read more views on the report in our special
section, starting on p10. We’d also welcome any
comments you would like to share with our readers –
what do you think has been the biggest legacy of the
report? What would you hope to happen over the next
10 years? Send your comments to me on the email
address below and we’ll share them with our readers on
our website at www.waterpowermagazine.com.
Best wishes
Carrieann Stocks
Editor
Email: carrieannstocks@globaltrademedia.com
EIB agrees loan for Metolong
Dam project, Lesotho
T
HE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT
Bank (EIB) has approved a EUR
140M loan for the Metolong Dam
and Water Supply Program, a key ele-
ment in the Government of Lesotho’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy.
The loan encompasses the
Metolong Dam itself, along with
related infrastructure, conveyance
system, water treatment works, envi-
ronmental and social management
and institutional support. The EIB’s
support closes the funding needed
to complete the EUR 282M project in
its entirety using a local currency and
long-term loan which is well suited to
the project’s long economic life.
“The European Investment Bank is
pleased to support the Government of
Lesotho in providing a secure source of
water for urban and peri-urban centres
in the country. The project will have
a signicant contribution both to the
Millennium Development Goals and for
the continued socio-economic develop-
ment of the country” said Plutarchos
Sakellaris, European Investment Bank
Vice President responsible for lending
operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The Metolong Dam is currently
on schedule to provide an additional
75,000m3 of clean water for 385,000
people by 2013. Close attention is
being paid to ensure that all aspects
of the ambitious scheme are car-
ried out in an environmentally and
socially responsible and sustainable
manner, with plans already underway
to enhance livelihoods of communities
affected by the scheme,” added Paul
Collins, Acting Chief Executive of the
Metolong Authority.
The main objective of the Program
is to supply treated bulk water to the
capital Maseru and other urban cen-
tres by September 2013. As a moun-
tainous country Lesotho disposed of
abundant water resources, however in
the dry season water can be scarce
and demand has increased over the
last decade due to economic growth
and urbanisation.
The detailed design of the convey-
ance system was made from European
Development Funds managed by the
European Commission.
“We are glad to see the EIB support-
ing water supply investment which is
an important priority in our cooperation
with Lesotho. The EU is also engaged
in reinforcing water management, so
as to ensure the sustainability of the
considerable EU support and funding.
Investments of this scale are needed
if we want to full the people’s access
to water and sanitation,” commented
the Head of the EU’s Delegation to
Lesotho, Mr. Hans Duynhouwer.
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8 NOVEMBER 2010 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
WORLD NEWS
In brief
SCOTTISH AND
Southern Energy has
announced it expects to
resume operations at its
Glendoe hydroelectric
project in the rst half of
2012, with work on new
tunnels at the scheme well
underway. The project –
the biggest conventional
hydro plant built in the
UK for half a century –
was shut down in August
2009 barely eight months
after generation began
when a substantial rock-
fall was discovered in
the headrace tunnel. UK
contractor BAM Nuttall
has been brought in to
excavate a short access
adit and the water
diversion tunnel. As yet,
no specic details have
been given about the local
geology, tunnel build or
cause of the rockfall.
SN POWER HAS
announced it plans to
invest US$400M in the
168MW Cheves hydro-
electric project in Peru,
with construction work
on the project scheduled
to start early next year.
The project – to be fully
owned by SN Power – has
already been approved
and registered to generate
carbon credits under the
UN`s Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM). The
company – a JV between
Statkraft and Norfund -
currently operates eight
hydropower plants in
Peru with a capacity of
273MW and annual
generation of 1.6 TWh.
The Cheves plant is
expected to be completed
by the end of 2013, with a
new transmission net-
work between the districts
of Huara and Oyón to be
built as part of the
construction work.
Toshiba enhances production capability in China
T
oshiba Hydro Power (Hangzhou)
Co, Ltd (THPC), a joint venture of
Japan’s Toshiba Corporation and
Sinohydro Corporation of China, has
completed an expansion of its assem-
bly and machining shop and the con-
struction of an advanced hydraulic
research laboratory equipped with a
hydro turbine model test facility.
The plant expansion allows the
company to manufacture 600MW
class hydropower generation equip-
ment and double its manufactured
output. The expansion positions
THPC to meet growing demand for
hydropower in China and the world
market, most notably India and
Southeast Asia, Toshiba said.
Since it was established in January
2005, THPC has supplied approximate-
ly 100 hydro turbines and generators,
mainly to Chinese projects. Most nota-
bly, in May this year THPC won a major
contract to supply a 4x320MW pumped
storage hydro power plant system at
the Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power
Station in Guangdong Province.
THPC’s manufacturing operation
includes casting, welding, assembly and
machining and a coil shop. Since scal
2006, the company has invested a total
of 170M RMB (approximately US$25M)
in building up its production capability and
facilities. Recent investments include the
November 2008 expansion of the coil
shop and installation of advanced equip-
ment for production of electrical compo-
nents for hydro turbine generators parts,
including coils and poles.
Alstom signs development MOU with RusHydro
A
LSTOM HYDRO HAS SIGNED A
Memorandum of Understanding
with RusHydro, Russia’s largest
power generation company, to par-
ticipate in the further development of
hydropower in the country.
The MoU includes a decision by both
parties to consider the possibilities of
co-operation in the reconstruction and
refurbishment of several operating
Russian hydropower plants, including
pumped storage plants, as well as
optimisation and maintenance.
Specifically, as a potential first
case, Alstom and RusHydro have
agreed to consider how they could
co-operate on the modernisation of
the Kubanski cascade hydropower
complex in the south of Russia and
the new pumped storage plant (2 x
70MW) at Zelenchuk. In addition, the
two companies are in outline discus-
sions over ways to co-operate in hydro-
power research and development.
IDB approves loan for Guri rehab, Venezuela
T
HE INTER-AMER ICAN
Development Bank (IDB) has
approved a $700M loan to help
increase output from the Guri hydroe-
lectric project in Venezuela by 795MW
– the largest energy efciency project
the IDB has ever nanced.
The loan will fund the rehabilitation
and upgrade of turbines in the coun-
try’s largest hydroelectric complex, also
known as Simón Bolivar Hydroelectric
Plant. Six of the 20 turbogenerator
units at the project will be replaced
as part of the rehabilitation scheme.
These units were installed in the
1960s and 1970s, and were also not
originally designed to handle the water
pressure available today from Guri’s
reservoir. As a result, Guri generates
7% less power than will be possible
after the units are overhauled.
The project, part of Venezuelan
G ove r n m e n t´s b roa d e r Gu r i
Modernization Program, will consist
of replacing rotors, regulators, genera-
tors and related equipment, along with
upgrading high voltage switchyards and
controls systems.
When concluded in 2016, the
project will enable Guri to offer 795MW
of additional power, equivalent to more
than 3% of Venezuela’s total electricity
generation capacity. It will also extend
the plant’s service life by around 25
years.
Venezuela will contribute a total of
$609M in counterpart funds to the
project, whose total cost will be around
$1.3B.
The IDB loan is for 20 years, with a
6 year grace period and an interest rate
based on LIBOR.
ITD sells Nam
Theun 2 shares
I
TALIAN-THAI DEVELOPMENT
Public Company Limited (ITD) has
agreed to sell its 15% stake in the
Nam Theun 2 Power Company Limited
(NTPC) – operator of the Nam Theun 2
hydropower scheme in Laos – to two
other partners in the power company.
In a statement, ITD said it had entered
into a Share Purchase Agreement with
the Electricity Generating Public Company
Limited (EGCO) for 450,000 shares, with
the remaining 225,000 shares to be
sold to EDF International (EDF). The total
transaction amounts to US$110M.
NTPC will now be held 35% by
EGCO, 40% by EDF and 25% by Lao
Holding State Enterprise.
Nam Theun 2 is a 1070MW transba-
sin hydropower scheme.
Fishway plans approved
T
HE US STATE OF MAINE’S
Department of Inland Fisheries
and Wildlife has approved
plans for the construction of a sh
passage at Cumberland Mills Dam
in Westbrook.
The plan is the result of more than
three years of negotiations with S.D.
Warren Co. d/b/a Sappi Fine Paper
North America, owner of the dam,
Friends of the Presumpscot River,
American Rivers, the Maine Department
of Environmental Protection, the Maine
Department of Marine Resources, and
US Fish and Wildlife Services.
The approval by department
Commissioner Roland “Danny” Martin
marks the conclusion of proceedings
that began with a petition from the
Friends of the Presumpscot River and
American Rivers, two groups seek-
ing the restoration of anadromous or
migratory sh resources.
In June 2009, Commissioner Martin
determined that a sh passage should
be constructed and maintained at the
Cumberland Mills Dam in order to con-
serve, develop or restore sh resourc-
es, specifically alewife, blueback
herring, American shad and American
eel, to the Presumpscot River water-
shed. It was determined that habitat
in the Presumpscot River watershed
above Cumberland Mills Dam is suf-
cient and suitable to support commer-
cial or recreational shing.
Commissioner Martin has now
approved a joint proposal submitted
by all parties that includes: shway
design, a shway and channel moni-
toring and maintenance plan, and a
construction schedule.
Let IWP&DC’s readers know about your forthcoming conferences and events.
For publication in a future issue, send your diary dates to: Carrieann Stocks, IWP&DC, Global Trade Media Ltd, Progressive House, 2 Maidstone Road,
Foots Cray, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 5HZ, UK. Alternatively, email: carrieannstocks@globaltrademedia.com, or fax:+44 208 269 7804
DIARY OF EVENTS
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DIARY
December
6-7 December
Small Hydropower USA 2010
Washington DC, US
CONTACT: Gr e e n Po w e r
Conferences, London, UK.
Tel: +44 20 7099 0600.
Email: info@greenpowerconfer-
ences.com.
www.greenpowerconferences.com
14-16 December
Power-Gen International
Orlando, Florida, US
CONTACT: Jan Simpson, Power-
Gen International, UK.
Tel: +1 918 831 9736.
Fax: +1 918 831 9875.
pgiconference@pennwell.com.
www.power-gen.com.
January 2011
18-21 January
World Future Energy Summit
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
CONTACT: Reed Exhibitions FZ
LLC, PO Box 60799, Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates.
Tel: +9712 444 6113.
Fax: +9712 444 3768.
Email: ara.fernezian@reedexpo.ae.
www.worldfutureenergysummit.
com.
February 2011
15-17 February
6th International Conference on
Dam Engineering
Lisbon, Portugal
CONTACT: Eliane Portela , LNEC,
Concrete Dams Department,
LNEC, Av. Brasil 101, 1700-066,
Lisbon, Portugal.
Tel: (351) 218443361.
Fax: (351) 218443026.
Email: eliane@lnec.pt.
http://dam11.lnec.pt.
22-24 February
Underwater Intervention 2011
New Orleans, LA, US
C O N T A C T : U n d e r w a t e r
Intervention 2011 Committee ,
5206 FM 1960 West, Suite 202
Houston, TX 77069 USA.
Tel: +1 281-893-8539.
Fax +1 281-893-511.
Email: rroberts@adc-int.org.
www.underwaterintervention.com.
March 2011
8-9 March
PTK 2011: Norwegian Power
Production Conference
Oslo, Norway
CONTACT: Energy Norway, PO
Box 7184 Majorstuen, N-0307
Oslo, Norway.
Tel: +47 23 08 8900.
Email: ptk@energinorge.no.
15-16 March
Case Studies Workshop: Learning
from International Dam Incidents
and Failures
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
CONTACT: CEATI International,
1010 Sherbrooke St W, Suite 2500,
Montreal, QC, Canada, H3A 2R7.
Email: workshops@ceati.com.
www.ceati.com/Meetings/DS2011/
index.html.
28-30 March
HydroVision Russia
Moscow, Russia
CONTACT: Mathilde Sueur,
Conference Manager, PennWell.
Tel: +44 1992 656 634.
Fax: +44 1992 656 735.
E: mathildes@pennwell.com.
www.hydrovision-russia.com.
April 2011
11-15 April
United States Society on Dams
20 1 1 An n u a l M e e t i ng and
Conference
San Diego, California, US
CONTACT: United States Society
on Dams, 1616 Seventeenth Street
#483, Denver CO 80202, US
Tel: +1 303-628-5430.
Fax: +1 303-628-5431.
15-17 April
Energy Efciency and Renewable
Energy Sources for South-East
Europe
Soa, Bulgaria
CONTACT: Via Expo Ltd, 3
Chehov Square, Plovdiv 4003,
Bulgaria.
Fax: +359 32 945 459.
Email: ofce@viaexpo.com.
http://viaexpo.com.
May 2011
5-7 May
HydroVision India
New Delhi, India
CONTACT: Amanda Kevan,
PennWell Corp, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 1992 656 645.
Fax: +44 1992 656 700.
Email: amandak@pennwell.com.
http://www.hydrovisionindia.com.
16-20 May
2 5 t h E u r o p e a n R e g i o n a l
Conference of ICID
Groningen, The Netherlands
CONTACT: Bert Toussaint,
Chairman of the Organizing
Committee, Ministry of Transport,
Public Works & Water Management,
Rijkswaterstaat Centre for Corporate
Services, PO Box 2232, NL-3500 GE
Utrecht, Netherlands
Tel: +31 62 079 1372
Email: bert.toussaint@rws.nl.
www.nethcid.nl.
23-26 May
Hidroenergia
Wroclaw, Poland
CONTACT: European Small
Hydropower Association (ESHA).
Tel: +32 2 546 1945 .
Fax: +32 2 546 1947.
Email: info@esha.be
www.esha.be.
29 May - 3 June
79th Annual Meeting of ICOLD
Lucerne, Switzerland
CONTACT: Swiss Committee
on Dams, c/o Stucky Consulting
Engineers.
Email: swissdams@stucky.ch
http://www.swissdams.ch
June 2011
7-9 June
Power-Gen Europe 2011
Milan, Italy
CONTACT: PennWell Publishing
UK Ltd, Warlies Park House,
Horseshoe Hill, Upshire, Essex,
EN9 3SR, UK.
www.powergeneurope.com.
14-17 June
IHA’s 2011 World Congress
Iguassu Falls, Brazil
C O N T A C T : I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Hydropower Association, Nine Sutton
Court Road, Sutton, Surrey. United
Kingdom, SM1 4SZ
Tel: +44 20 8652 5290.
Email: congress@hydropower.org.
http://www.hydropower.org.
15-18 June
II Optimization of Constructions
Methods of CFRDs
Yichang, China
CONTACT: HydrOu China, No
41-210 Three Gorges Community,
Zhenping Road, Yichang city, Hubei
443002, China.
Tel: +86717 672-2137.
Email: hydrou@hydrou.com.
http://hydrou.com.
July 2011
19-22 July
HydroVision 2011
California, US
CONTACT: Libby Smith, Conference
Manager, PennWell.
Tel: +1 (918) 831-9560
Email: hvconference@pennwell.com
September 2011
5-7 September
3rd Australasian Hydro Power
Conference
Queenstown, New Zealand
CONTACT: John Schurink.
Tel: +64 3 3646607.
Email: schurinkj@mace-eng.co.nz.
www.hydroconference.co.nz.
25-29 September
Dam Safety 2011
Washington DC, US
CONTACT: Association of State
Dam Safety Ofcials.
info@damsafety.org.
www.damsafety.org.
10 NOVEMBER 2010 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
WORLD COMMISSION ON DAMS - 10 YEARS ON
I
T IS TRUE. Time does pass more quickly as you get older.
I’m nding it hard to grasp the fact that ten years have passed
since I last wrote an article on the subject we’re covering
now. On 16 November 2000, the nal report of the World
Commission on Dams was published. I travelled to London for
the press launch where dam industry professionals gathered with
dam opponents, WCD commissioners and everyone else with an
interest in the much publicised big dams debate. Under the ofcial
patronage of Nelson Mandela, Dams and Development: A New
Framework for Decision Making was launched.
I can remember clearly the sense of expectation, maybe even nerv-
ous vibrations, emanating throughout the industry. Speculation was
rife – as it had been since the establishment of the commission in
1998. What would the report do? And how seriously would it be
taken – by the dam industry and dam opponents?
Described as an unprecedented task, and claiming its independence
and transparency along the way, the WCD brought together oppo-
nents and proponents of the dams debate as never witnessed before.
Its aim was to gather information over a two-year period to illustrate
the good and bad impacts of dams, before listing seven strategic pri-
orities which included gaining public acceptance, options assessment,
addressing existing dams and sharing benets. These were then sup-
ported by 26 guidelines to enable their application in the planning
and project cycles.
As former WCD chairman Kader Asmal said, whatever it thinks of
the report, the dam industry can no longer use the phrase ‘business
as usual’. “We are not in the business of passing moral or religious
condemnation,” he’d said in 2000. “This [report] is a tool to meet
development needs. We should not just improve the old way of doing
business. There must be new ways.”
Well, ten years have passed now. Has this been enough time for
the development of a new business ethos? And are the WCD and its
recommendations still relevant in today’s society? Previously develop-
ment and improving standards of living were the main drivers behind
dam projects. However, over the past decade under the glare of cli-
mate change, hydropower has been rmly placed back on the agenda
as a source of renewable power. Has this changed the rules on the
playing eld? At the ofcial signing off of the WCD report, secretary
general Achim Steiner said: “We have told our story. What happens
next is up to you.” So what exactly did happen?
FIRST REACTIONS
In a nutshell, the nal report was not received well by all parties.
There were contentious issues. Was compliance expected with all
26 guidelines? And had developing countries been represented ade-
quately in the process? As one commentator explained: “WCD was
a wake-up call to the industry but it was also an overly complex and
unimplementable document, which failed to consult developing coun-
try governments where more than 80% of the techno-economically
feasible hydropower potential lies.” [2]
“The report was considered anti-dam by the World Bank and a
number of governments. Unjustly in my view,” says former WCD
commissioner Jose Goldemberg. “The nal part of the report was read
out of context as requiring that all steps enumerated there would have
to be strictly followed, which indeed could stop dam construction.”
Alessandro Palmieri is a lead dam specialist with the World Bank.
Although he did not have any signicant interaction with the WCD
process, he was involved in the follow up Dams and Development
Project (DDP). “The report was not well accepted by all stakehold-
ers,” he agreed. “Responses ranged from full endorsement to full
rejection. My hopes, at that time, resided with the attitude towards
the report of developing countries with signicant dam building pro-
grammes. Those attitudes were not very promising, largely due to
the fact that the voices of those stakeholders were not adequately
reected in the report.”
John Briscoe is a former senior water adviser at the World Bank.
He helped design the WCD process and acted as a liaison to the
commission. “Several of the key guidelines were not, in the view
of developing country governments, industry and the World Bank,
remotely practical,” he said. “Taken as a whole they [the guidelines]
had never been considered, let alone implemented in any country, and
their demands were so extreme that it was unimaginable that even the
most capable of countries could comply with them.”
Briscoe went on to add that although the World Bank thought
there was much value in the report, “the heart of the matter – compli-
ance with the 26 guidelines – would effectively make it impossible for
the Bank (or anyone else) to ever nance a dam”. [1]
In its ofcial position on the WCD report and guidelines the World
Bank, as stated in its Water Resources Sector Strategy in 2003, said it
was committed to supporting its borrowers in developing and manag-
ing projects in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner.
However, the Bank would not comply with the 26 WCD guidelines.
Instead it would work with its borrowers using the Bank’s current
operational policies which the WCD had described as being ‘the most
sophisticated set of policies, operational procedures and guidelines
amongst the international donor community’.
Peter Bosshard from International Rivers shares his view. “The
WCD’s rights and risk approach was welcomed and embraced by
international organisations, government agencies, civil society groups
and many nanciers. Due to the resistance of the dam industry and
important governments, we missed a chance to overcome the previ-
ous battles and try a new approach to water and energy sector devel-
opment,” he says.
In 2001 the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD)
issued its nal comments on the WCD report. It stated that its own
goals were not signicantly different to those mentioned by WCD.
However, ICOLD also believed that the report overlooked the huge
benets of dams to society and didn’t fully take into account the devel-
opment phase of different countries. In ICOLD’s view, the WCD’s
guidelines were too idealistic. “It was inappropriate to require all
countries and all international banking organisations to follow the
same guidelines,” says ICOLD president Jia Jingsheng.
Ten years have passed since publication of the World Commission on Dams’ nal report.
Suzanne Pritchard spoke to some of those involved in this revolutionary process in the big
dams debate. But is WCD still topical now in 2010, or is it all just water under the bridge?
Water under the bridge?
Dams and Development Project
Hosted by UNEP, the DDP was a multi-stakeholder steering committee
established in November 2001 as a neutral entity to take forward the
considerations of the WCD recommendations. It was to promote inclusive
multi-stakeholder dialogue and widely disseminate WCD materials.
The full DDP compendium is available online at:
www.unep.org/dams/includes/compendium.asp