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Entura specialists celebrate inaugural Global Hydropower Day with first webinar

13 October, 2022

A panel of Entura specialists came together this week to celebrate Global Hydropower Day, marking the occasion with Entura’s international webinar.

Five members of our Executive and Technical Leadership Teams formed the panel, comprising Dale Bryce, Director, Hydropower and Headworks, Dr Amanda Ashworth, Director Strategy, Sales and Commercial, Donald Vaughan, Principal Consultant – Electrical Primary Systems, Richard Herweynen, Principal Consultant – Civil, and Rajeev Raina, Resident Director India.

During the session, they explored the opportunities and challenges confronting the energy sector and the role of hydropower in resolving the energy crisis.

Mr Roger Gill, president of the International Hydropower Association, gave the opening remarks, noting that it was the first Global Hydropower Day webinar event in the world.

Roger noted the enormous opportunity for hydropower to underpin a faster transition to wind and solar, to fill the gap in generation as coal power retires from the market, and to bring a level of energy security in the current world energy crisis sparked by international conflicts.

“Hydropower plays an essential role in the global path to net zero and is key to the growth of other renewables,” he said.

“Hydropower is a clean, green, modern and affordable solution to climate change, and it will ensure the energy transition occurs effectively. With hydropower we can change the world.”

Entura is currently involved in a range of hydropower and pumped hydro projects throughout Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. These include the Kidston Pumped Hydro Storage Project in Queensland, the Battery of the Nation initiative in Tasmania and the Baleh hydroelectric project in Indonesia.

“The International Energy Agency and other institutions are telling us that we need to double our global hydropower capacity in the next 30 years,” said Mr Bryce.

“We know that hydropower developments take time, so in order to keep up with these changes we need to be investing now and moving quickly. We cannot afford to continue business as usual.”

“There’s a massive transition still ahead of us globally to lift electrification, alleviate poverty, encourage jobs and education, support economies, and secure water supplies – and hydropower projects have a very significant role to play in achieving these goals,” added Dr Ashworth.

“With robust sustainability frameworks and tools we have the opportunity to do good projects and to heed past lessons. Fast-tracking can’t come at the expense of sustainability, particularly local environmental and social impacts. Getting these factors right are a crucial part of the hydropower journey.”

With complexity to create robust energy security there are no simple answers. Global Hydropower Day gives us an opportunity to continue the conversations on a global platform to find solutions together.

Watch the full webinar here.