Projects seek to exploit huge unused potential in Africa, Asia and Latin America

World Energy Congress, Daegu, South Korea, 15 October 2013: While it remains easier to build a coal plant than a hydro facility due to social and environmental concerns, hydropower is enjoying a renaissance. Large hydro projects seek to exploit the huge unused potential in Central Africa, Latin America, Russia and Canada, delegates to the World Energy Congress heard today.

With only one third of achievable hydro potential developed to date and at least 75 percent of the unexploited hydropower potential found in Africa, Asia and Latin America, experts said it is clear that growth potential within the sector remains significant.

Richard Taylor, executive director of the International Hydropower Association, said negotiations with environmental activists, banks and other players since 2000, which led to the 2011 Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, have been rewarded with "record deployment" since 2007. "Hydropower has been in renaissance," he said.

Noting that hydro's infrastructure keeps producing power long after it is paid for, Oskar Sigvaldason, founder and president of SCMS Global, said that in mature markets such as the United States and Canada, "the lowest cost charges are in those jurisdictions which happen to be hydro-dominated." His message regarding hydro is clear, saying: "Wherever it is, it should be built."

But in contrast to planned coal plants, which tend to be considered in isolation, hydro projects are more complex, typically needing to be integrated with overall national development programmes. Multinational and regional collaboration must be better structured to support further development of hydro projects, he said.

Hydro has found itself "in the penalty box" over the last few decades, Sigvaldason observed, with NGOs, the public and governments criticizing population displacement and environmental damage resulting from the building of dams.

Some of the criticism goes too far, said Torstein Dale Sjøtveit, CEO of Sarawak Energy in Malaysia. "The developing world should not be expected to meet standards which we have never met" in the West, he said. Alessandro Clerici, the World Energy Council's executive chair of world energy resources said critics should take account of the fact that construction of hydro projects provides "a lot of employment in these poor countries."

About the World Energy Council (WEC)

Founded in 1923, the World Energy Council is the only truly global and inclusive forum for thought-leadership and tangible engagement committed to our sustainable energy future. Our network of 93 national committees represents over 3,000 member organizations including governments, industry and expert institutions. Our mission is to promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all. The World Energy Congress is the world's premier energy gathering.

Further details at www.worldenergy.org and @WECouncil

About the World Energy Congress

The World Energy Congress is the triennial flagship event of the World Energy Council. It has gained recognition since the first event in 1924 as the premier global forum for leaders and thinkers to debate solutions to energy issues. In addition to the discussions, the event provides an opportunity for executives to display their technologies and explore business opportunities. With the upcoming Congress in Daegu the event will have been held in 20 major cities around the world since its founding.

Further details at www.daegu2013.kr and @WECongress