Hydro-power Generation as Energy-Water-Land Interactions from Historical Perspective

Abstract:

Hydro-power generation has been expected as one of low-carbon and independent electricity all over the World. However, several anxieties about damages on river ecosystem or landscape issues have been raised so far. If the scope for calculating potential of hydro-power generation development be limited to medium and small scale power plant in Japan (ex. less than 30MW) to avoid such damages, approximately 14GW was supposed to be maximum capacity, which corresponds to 10% of the World potential. In some rivers in Japan, a new hydro-power development has to be harmonized and coordinated with existing water users such as agriculture and other industries. So, after taking our historical perspective into consideration, useful suggestions for harmonizing with multi-stakeholders can be drawn. Our case study on the Kyoto City, one of the oldest cities in Japan will be reported.