Hydropower, Austria's Mixed Blessing

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 001554 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG SENV ECON KGHG AU SUBJECT: Hydropower, Austria's Mixed Blessing REF: (A) VIENNA 1155; (B) 08 VIENNA 1819; (C) 08 VIENNA 956 ¶1. SUMMARY: Austria is blessed with extensive hydropower resources which provide the bulk of its electricity supply -- but come with environmental and political costs. Austria's hydropower potential is (TWh) 56 terawatt hours annually -- of which 38 TWh are already installed -- but further expansion will likely meet fierce environmental resistance. A popular uprising which scuttled a huge Danube hydropower project ("Hainburg") 25 years ago this month remains a touchstone for environmentalists, almost on par with opposition to nuclear power. The resulting contradiction -- environmentalists dead-opposed to the country's main clean energy source -- puts Austria at risk of missing its EU renewables target for 2020 (34% of energy mix, up from 24% now). END SUMMARY. Hydropower Accounts For Bulk Of Renewables Potential - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. With its steep geography and abundant fresh water, Austria already relies on hydropower for 60% of its electricity production. Since hydropower is "carbon-neutral" and relatively cheap, it is an attractive source for Austrian policy makers and utilities to reach the country's "ambitious" EU renewables target (34%) rather than more costly options such as wind, solar, and biofuels. The Austrian Association of Electricity Producers (VEO) estimates that hydropower accounts for half of Austria's feasible new renewable capacity through 2020. Barbara Schmidt, VEO General Secretary, told Post that providers will invest over $12 billion in high-voltage grid and renovation/ construction of hydropower stations over the next eight years, to increase output by a tenth. ¶3. The industry fears that public resistance and tighter environmental standards (in a planned National Waters Management Plan/WMP) could significantly hamper extension of hydropower. The WMP foresees high water quality and biodiversity standards near hydropower stations in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). "Water quality is very good already" says Schmidt and further improvement would require investments of $1.5 billion (for measures such as fish migration support),which producers could not afford. In that case, Austria will not reach its renewables goals for 2020. Is Hydropower A Threat To Austria's Rivers and Wetlands... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. Austria's environmentalists oppose new dams. 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the biggest environmental "uprising" in Austria's history: thousands of protestors occupied alluvial forests for weeks in December 1984 to oppose construction of a Danube hydropower station in a sensitive habitat (now part of the "Danube-Auen" National Park). A leader of that movement and now Director of Vienna's Natural History Museum, Bernd Loetsch, calls hydropower "massively overrated" as a "clean energy" response to the climate challenge. Austria's hydropower potential is virtually tapped out already; new projects would merely cover five years worth of projected new electricity demand. Austria should focus instead, Loetsch argues, on the potential "40 percent reduction" in demand achievable via new efficiency measures. ¶5. New hydropower projects would mean "disaster" to natural habitats in Austria's few remaining river biotopes, says the Austrian chapter of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Environmentalists point out that Austria's 5,400 kilometers of rivers are already bisected by 747 power stations and 3,700 barriers. ... or the Carbon-Free Answer to Growing Energy Needs? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. Schmidt from VEO says building hydropower stations in the national park areas is not planned and counters the environmentalists' position against hydropower. The producers' case for further expanding hydropower: - Over the past decade, both overall energy demand (up 17%) and particularly electricity consumption (up 25%) have grown inexorably: even in the crisis year of 2008, electricity demand was up 2%; - There is little potential to expand other renewables dramatically in the span of a decade; - Over the long term, Austria must dramatically expand "carbon free" energy; - Austria's renunciation of nuclear energy (unlike most of its neighbors) gives it no other large-capacity, low-carbon energy sources; and - Austria has been a net electricity importer since 2003, making it increasing dependent on others. ¶7. Schmidt cited a July 2009 Gallup poll in which 93% of Austrians VIENNA 00001554 002 OF 002 rated hydropower as "very important" or "important" source of energy supply to maintain a "sound environment". 42% had a positive opinion about hydropower stations, 7% a negative view, and 51% were neutral. "We want to speak up for the silent majority", she said. Divisions within the "Green" Community - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. The debate over costs and benefits of hydropower was in the center of a recent Umbrella Organization of Environmental NGOs (UOEN) meeting to discuss the lessons of "Hainburg" 25 years later. A representative of small hydropower operators emphasized hydropower's potential to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, create local jobs, avoid electricity imports, and bolster security of supply. In contrast, UOEN's water specialist termed potential new hydropower capacity (which he pegs at just 2-3 Terawatt hours) "a drop in the ocean" and not worth destroying the remaining 15% of Austria's river landscapes which are still ecologically intact. Should Austria Pursue Energy Independence? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. Austria's mainstream policy-makers generally support hydropower, but lack consensus on overall energy policy. GoA Environment Minister Berlakovich (whose portfolio extends to renewables and water management) advocates "energy autarchy" through renewables -- but Wolfgang Anzengruber, CEO of Verbund (Austria's largest electricity provider) calls energy independence a "nonsensical" goal for Austria, a country which foreswore nuclear power (the source of 30% of Europe's energy). Anzengruber advocates extending hydropower "wherever possible" (COMMENT: a formulation which sidesteps ecological concerns). International Dimension - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶10. Building on its alpine image, Austrian companies are frontrunners in building and operating hydropower facilities in Europe and beyond. Verbund, for instance, is bidding for hydropower licenses from Electricite de France (EdF) and holds a 46% stake in Poweo, France's second largest distributor. In Italy, Verbund's market share in hydropower is 10%; Verbund is targeting in similar share in Turkey in conjunction with partner Sabanci (ref C). In Albania, Verbund will soon be the first foreign company to build a hydropower station there. ¶11. Another prominent Austrian firm in the sector is Andritz, a world leader in building and servicing hydroelectric dams. Andritz was slated to lead the consortium building of the huge Ilisu dam project in Turkey, with guarantees from Austria's export financing arm (Kontrollbank) and the German and Swiss export authorities. In July, Germany and Switzerland withdrew financing due to environmental concerns, with the Austrian Kontrollbank reluctantly following suit. According to press reports, Andritz is considering a deal with Chinese investors to realize the Turkish dam project. In addition to building new plants, Andritz specializes in modernizing and rehabilitating of hydropower stations around the world, including in the United States: Tacoma Power's Mossyrock dam in Washington State was a 2009 project. Andritz has expressed hope to participate in more U.S. projects in connection with the current USG push towards energy independence and lower emissions. COMMENT - - - - ¶12. Hydropower is Austria's primary source of electricity -- but covers just 20% of overall energy consumption. Hydropower availability was a big reason Austrians had the luxury of "renouncing" the use of nuclear power. While the energy industry and most politicians (except the Greens) regard new hydropower as the best means to reach renewables goals, environmentalists and many scientists are adamant about its ecological costs. Rather than ease the debate, the new urgency to stop climate change is likely to bring differences to the forefront, if and when utilities move to construct large new dams in Austria. END COMMENT EACHO