Hydropower is the largest source of renewable electricity worldwide and advancing its deployment is essential in driving the energy transition forward.
This was the consensus at this week’s high-level meeting of IRENA’s Collaborative Framework on Hydropower.
The meeting gathered decision-makers with insights on hydropower to facilitate knowledge exchange and identify concrete actions that allow hydropower to fulfil its role as an enabler of the decarbonisation of energy systems.
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The meeting took place on the sidelines of the World Hydropower Congress hosted by the Government of Costa Rica and welcomed 150 attendees from 42 countries.
The event featured a panel comprised of representatives of the African Union, the Latin American Energy Organization, the United States Department of Energy and the World Bank.
The panel discussed some of the most pressing needs for hydropower including the need to ensure sustainability, to quickly secure large investments to deploy new capacity and refurbish a large share of today’s ageing fleet, and the need for new business models and market frameworks that adequately reward the full range of services provided by hydropower beyond power generation.
Member countries recognized hydropower as a fundamental pillar of the clean energy transition and critical to the achievement of the Paris Agreement’s goals.
Press release courtesy of IRENA.
Read More:IRENA emphasises the role of hydropower in achieving energy transition