Global Headlines

Africa

Countries agree to study reservoir filling for Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will set up a scientific study group to consult on filling of the reservoir behind Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The team is expected to conclude the study within three months after its establishment, says Ethiopian News Agency.

This was the result of the 2nd Tripartite High Level Ministerial Meeting of Ethiopia, the Sudan and Egypt on the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam that opened May 15 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Africanews reported that the three countries agreed to establish the Tripartite Infrastructure Fund to deal with issues relating to GERD, among others. And the leaders will meet every six months.

The US$6.4 billion GERD hydro project on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia is reportedly about two-thirds complete. However, Sudan and Egypt downstream are concerned that the rate at which Ethiopia proposes to fill the reservoir might cause water shortages.

Asia/Oceania

Myanmar, IFC release draft assessment calling for sustainable development

The International Finance Corporation and government of Myanmar have released a draft strategic environmental assessment intended to help guide sustainabile hydroelectric growth.

In The report is the culmination of an 18-month process that drew input from the private sector, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations and others, with coordination led by Myanmar’s Ministry of Electricity & Energy, and Ministry of Natural Resources & Environmental Conservation.

Key amongst the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) findings is a recommendation to preserve Myanmar’s main waterways — namely the Ayeyarwady, Thanlwin and Chindwin rivers — in favor of those that have what IFC called “less environmental, social and cultural risk.”

Europe

Decommissioning of tidal energy tripod offers lessons learned

Removal of a tripod foundation at the Fall of Warness tidal energy test site off Orkney, Scotland, will offer lessons for the ocean energy sector.

As part of this collaborative decommissioning project, a forensic analysis will be conducted of the tidal energy tripod, which has been at the site since 2009.

The European Marine Energy Centre says the operations will feed into a FORESEA-funded (Funding Ocean Renewable Energy through Strategic European Action) project called Forensic Decommissioning for Tidal Energy Converters, or FoDTEC.

The analysis will focus on understanding the end-of-life condition of the tripod and ascertain the long-term effect of deploying components and systems in the sea, according to a press release. Forensic examination techniques will focus on biofouling and metallurgic analysis, and a detailed photographic record of the decommissioning activity will be collated for future reference.

Latin America

Groups file suit against Peru’s 600-MW Chadin 2 project

A lawsuit has been filed by environmental watchdog EarthRights International and Instituto de Defensa Legal on behalf of communities that could be impacted by the construction of Peru’s Chadin 2 plant.

The 600-MW hydropower project, to be located on the Maranon River, would create a reservoir with an area of around 32.5 km2, displacing residents of Tagen, Corgetana, Tupen, Mendan and Rambran, amongst others.

An environmental impact assessment was approved by Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines in February 2014, but EarthRights and its partners want that assessment ruled invalid via a constitutional request for protection due to the impact Chadin 2 might have on the area’s ecosystem.

Statements from the group mention the assessment’s disregard for what impacts Chadin 2’s 175-m-high by 370-m-long dam might have on sediment flows in the Maranon River, which are, according to the Washington, D.C.-based group, essential for the region’s agriculture.

North America

Duke Energy to sell five small plants to Northbrook Energy

Duke Energy Carolinas will sell five small hydroelectric plants in the Western Carolinas region to Northbrook Energy through a competitive bidding process.

The facilities, which have a combined 18.7-megawatt generation capacity, are Bryson, Franklin and Mission hydro stations in the Nantahala area, and Tuxedo and Gaston Shoals hydro stations in the Green/Broad River Basin.

DEC will purchase all of the energy generated by these facilities for five years through power purchase agreements with Northbrook Energy.

Based on the upkeep investments needed over time, DEC determined it was in the best interest of customers to sell the facilities.

The completion of the transaction is subject to approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to transfer the hydroelectric licenses to Northbrook Energy, as well as other state regulatory approvals.

Northbrook Energy will be required to comply with all FERC license requirements as well as existing agreements entered into by DEC, which Northbrook will assume.

Closing is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2019.