By Tom Fort
Recently, the European Union recorded a significant reduction in its emissions of carbon dioxide to the lowest levels recorded in as much as sixty years. Between 2022 and 2023, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption in the EU fell by eight per cent, with Isaac Levi, an analyst at Crea, remarking that: ‘EU CO2 emissions have now returned to levels reminiscent of (…) the 1960s.’ Europe has been no stranger in recent years to falling levels of carbon emissions, with the year 2020 recording a similar decline owing to the emergency measures hastened in by governments to combat the spread of COVID-19. The continuation of this decline several years later however implies a vitality to Europe’s environmental strategies characterised by a greater reliance on green technologies. There are, however, critical vulnerabilities in the EU’s activity. Of all energy sources, hydropower is unique, a renewable option which can simultaneously strengthen the bloc’s long-term environmental and political vitality.
As of 2021, hydropower accounts for 32% of the EU’s renewable energy production, and 12% of the bloc’s electricity overall. Figures are even higher in individual member states, with hydropower accounting for approximately 45% of electricity generation in Sweden. The expansion of wind and solar power generation has formed a key pillar of the bloc’s renewable energy strategy, yet this ‘ever-increasing share’ has placed pressure on the electricity grid owing to the intermittent nature of these sources. For example, supply is not necessarily guaranteed with such sources, owing primarily to weather-related constraints. Such concerns may be further exacerbated at peak hours during the evening and mornings, when the demand for electricity particularly in domestic settings rises significantly. The consistency of electricity production from hydropower however means that these gaps can be more easily filled and so the electricity grid can be stabilised, enhancing the credentials of a sustainable electricity supply in Europe. Hydroelectric plants along rivers can furthermore help to regulate the flow of water, able to provide increased supplies during times of drought and conversely help protect against flooding. This level of control can help to both predict and limit the secondary damage to ecosystems and habitats which can result from extreme weather events which are noticeably increasing.
Aside from being able to offer the EU a source of renewable electricity to cope with intermittent demand and emergency situations, hydropower’s invaluable role in energy storage through pumped storage power stations could also strengthen the EU’s environmental and consequently political autonomy. As of October 2023, pumped storage hydropower provides over 90% of electricity storage capacity in Europe and as such, hydropower can allow for the integration of great quantities of renewable energy from previously discussed intermittent sources. Many believe that hydroelectric power remains an under-exploited field, with some estimates suggesting that electricity storage capacity in the European Union could rise by as much as 80% with improvements to reservoirs.
A wider storage capacity for electricity and greater potential for the integration of other renewable sources of energy may afford greater flexibility to the bloc at times of uncertainty beyond its borders by affording diminished dependency on external providers of energy. Such uncertainty has been in plentiful supply in recent years, firstly with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent halting of gas deliveries westward, seen for example in Moscow’s decision in September 2022 to shut down Nord Stream 1. More recently, attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea, through which around 13% of Europe’s liquefied natural gas passed as of 2023, has posed an additional threat to the arteries which sustain the continent’s economic activity. Greater European control of European electricity generation through a more dependable political climate could help to make current and future European targets on carbon emissions more achievable and Europe’s industries and populations less vulnerable to the effects of energy shortage.
There remains however an important distinction between renewable and green sources of energy. While being able to produce renewable electricity, hydropower’s green credentials may be severely damaged if its operation were to result in environmental damage or disturbance. As a more mature technology, hydropower is theoretically well placed to play an expanded role in supplying Europe’s energy, its operation better tested and understood compared to many other technologies. Theory however has been reinforced through practice, with EU-led policies being put into place. One such project, the FIThydro project, set out to investigate measures which may help mitigate the potential negative impacts of hydropower on the environment. Solutions developed as part of this project have included measures to guide decision-making regarding hydropower plants and also to protect marine life, such as with systems to help fish pass safely through turbines and to predict the risks of fish mortality. In this way, political forces can help ensure that a renewable source of energy is able to function in harmony with its surroundings.
As the fight against climate change continues, hydropower may be able to provide the dependable supply, long-term security and environmental health needed to ensure a truly sustainable energy policy in the EU. While able to add vitality to the EU’s political autonomy, a greater exploitation of hydropower technology could truly raise the status of the bloc yet further as an independent geopolitical actor. For example, greater energy security could change the nature of the EU’s relationships with ‘friendly states’, a key example being the United States, from which the EU imported a total of just over 2.7 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas in September 2023 alone. This wider freedom to dictate policy underscores yet again how sustainability can be diversified in both environmental and political terms, affording the EU an even greater chance to weather the natural and the geopolitical storms of the 21st century.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own, and may not reflect the opinions of The St Andrews Economist.
Image Source: https://www.themayor.eu/en/a/view/two-major-hydropower-plants-to-be-constructed-in-salzburg-and-carinthia-7447