World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower
Antalya, Turkey | 29-31 May, 2007
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Hydropower Congress Concludes in Antalya
Roger Gill, Vice President, IHA, Peter Rae, Chairman, International Renewable Energy Alliance, and Jürg Gerber, Chief Operating Officer, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, during the closing session.
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The International Hydropower Association (IHA) World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower concluded Thursday. On its final day, the Congress considered the role of the public and private sectors in hydropower development, business and social responsibility, and prospects for certifying good practice. The day ended with a closing session and general meeting of the IHA.
In the morning, Jean-Michel Devernay, IHA Vice President, chaired a session on common approaches to hydropower development and the role of the public and private sectors, with panelists from the SUEZ Energy Brasil, SN Power, Hydro OGK, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), International Finance Cooperation (IFC), the Clean Energy Development Bank, the Turkish Ministry of Energy, and Norad. Participants discussed the need to decarbonize energy in the face of increasing energy demands. Others questioned how to factor in increasing costs of cement, steel and copper, which impact downstream costs. Some delegates lamented the lack of projects in Africa and questioned why hydropower projects cost three times as much on the continent.
Myriam Truchon, Director, Environment and Sustainability, Hydro Quebec, then chaired a session on business and social responsibility, with panelists from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), EDF, CAP Conseil, National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), Transparency Internatinoal, Statkraft, and Hydro Tasmania Consulting. Delegates discussed: the certification of companies; the possibility of renegotiating lending rates; using independent auditors to engage external financers; and using the IHA sustainability protocol in developing countries.
In the afternoon, Deputy Minister Anita Utseth, Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Norway, chaired a panel discussion on certifying good practice, with panelists from the IHA, International Centre for Hydropower (ICH), Sustainable Finance, The Nature Conservancy, Norad, and Det Norske Veritas (DNV). Participants addressed: the challenge of making certification schemes both simple and quantitatively accurate: whether the company or the project is being certified; the need for certification to move away from simply being a checklist; and the benefits of certification schemes.
In the late afternoon, Doğan Altınbilek, IHA President, chaired a closing session. Reports on the discussions of each day were presented. Richard Taylor, IHA Executive Director, presented a report of activities for the 2005-2007 biennium, then briefly reviewed the activities of the last five days. President Altınbilek thanked participants for visiting Turkey, expressed hope they would return in 2009 for the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, and closed the Congress at 5:18 pm.
In the evening, participants attended a gala dinner poolside at the Talya Hotel, sponsored by the Turkish State Hydraulic Works (DSİ).
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Thursday, 31 May
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Common Approaches to Hydro Development - Role of Public and Private Sectors
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Jean-Michel Devernay, IHA Vice President / EDF, chaired the session and said an objective was to identify barriers to finance for hydropower projects.
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Jack Whelan, IHA consultant, facilitated the session.
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Gil Maranhão, Director, SUEZ Energy Brasil, described the challenges of developing hydropower projects in Brazil.
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Ole Gran, Director, Project Finance, SN Power, Norway, highlighted an SN Power project in India, the largest CDM hydropower project.
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Vyatcheslav Sinyugin, Chief Executive Officer, Hydro OGK, Russia, discussed the development of the hydropower sector in Russia.
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Lutz Blank, Group Head, Environment Department, EBRD, said that engineering procurement contracting is "not the panacea" for risk allocation.
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Patric Shirzadi, Senior Project Manager, KfW, discussed the development bank's activities and described the barriers to hydropower investment as risks.
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Dana Younger, Senior Adviser, Infrastructure Department, IFC, said IFC plans to increase investment in renewables by 20% per annum.
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Janak Karmacharya, Head, Clean Energy Development Bank, Nepal, emphasized the need for political stability, good governance, and regulatory frameworks in countries for investment confidence.
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Budak Dilli, General Director of Energy Affairs, Ministry of Energy, Turkey, discussed opportunities and difficulties in hydropower development in Turkey.
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Morten Svelle, Policy Director, Sustainable Economic Development, Norad, outlined Norad's work in promoting good governance.
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Henry Bidasala-Igaga, Ministry of Energy, Uganda, called for greater innovation in approaches to hydropower development in developing countries.
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Business and Social Responsibility
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Roger Gill, IHA Vice President, facilitated the discussion.
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Myriam Truchon, Director, Environment and Sustainability, Hydro Quebec, discussed the recent developments in corporate social responsibility.
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Jürg Gerber, Chief Operating Officer, WBCSD, drew attention to the WBCSD's shared commitment to sustainable development.
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Rosalyn Hees, Transparency International, noted corruption's reputation risk, damage to internal corporate culture, and extra cost to business.
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Amanda Banks, Sustainable Energy and Environment Manager, Hydro Tasmania Consulting, explained that corporate sustainability reporting protects the long-term economic health of the company.
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Laurent Bellet, Head, Environment and Social Department, EDF, outlined EDF's use of the IHA sustainability protocol for an internal audit.
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Marie d'Huart, Partner, CAP Conseil, discussed using satellite images to reinforce sustainability indicators.
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Tormod Schei, Senior Advisor, Environment and New Energy, Statkraft, explained that Stratkraft hopes to become a leader in environmentally friendly energy.
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Siba Prasad Sen, Technical Director, NHPC, India, noted the growing trend of corporate social responsibility.
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Panel Discussion on Certifying Good Practice
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Refaat Abdel-Malek, Vice Chairman, MWH Global, facilitated the session on certifying good practice.
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Anita Utseth, Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Norway, explained that certification is a way for hydropower to gain credibility.
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Richard Taylor, Executive Director, IHA, said IHA had worked to demonstrate, evaluate and quantify sustainable performance and certification was the next step.
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Pål Mellquist, Director, ICH, emphasized the need for good practice guidelines to be self evident and simple.
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André Abadie, Director, Sustainable Finance, noted the increased scrutiny of private sector financial institutions.
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Jeff Opperman, The Nature Conservancy, explained that certification recognizes excellence.
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Kristine Wæringsaasen, Senior Energy Adviser, Norad, stressed the principle of national ownership and the need for adequate national legislation.
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Øistein Aarnes, Head of Utilities Department, DNV, highlighted a number of cross-industry certification and auditing systems, including ISO 14001.
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Jamie Pittock, WWF, expressed willingness to work with IHA to develop an appropriate sustainability certification scheme.
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Closing Session
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Jürg Gerber, Chief Operating Officer, WBCSD, highlighted that IHA had initiated dialogue on a suggestion to convene a group on water, climate and hydropower.
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Peter Rae, Chairman, International Renewable Energy Alliance, noted discussions could have concentrated on increasing the rate of construction and deployment to meet demand.
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Roger Gill, IHA Vice President, noted a confluence of interest between banks and IHA in implementing sustainable projects.
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Richard Taylor, IHA Executive Director, presented a report of the activities of the last two years, and reviewed the events of the Congress. |
Aliya Hajee, IHA Communications Officer, read a congratulatory message from World Water Council President Loïc Fauchon.
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Doğan Altınbilek, IHA President, chaired the closing session and general meeting.
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Around the Congress
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Your IISD Reporting Team: Melanie Ashton, Team Leader/Writer, Australia; Robynne Boyd, Writer, United States; Dan Birchall, Digital Editor, United States.
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Related Links
Congress Web Site
International Hydropower Association
UNESCO Water
World Water Council
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