Changes to the United Kingdom's Feed-In Tariff program could have a negative impact on a number of generation sectors -- including small hydroelectric power -- according to a number of industry groups.

On Aug. 27, Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure government announced it has leased 22 small hydropower projects located in the northern and western provinces to private investors to spur the country’s hydroelectric energy program. According to energy experts at the ministry, the plants would add about 24.6 MW of hydroelectric energy to the national grid. 

Venezuela's government is taking measures to inspect the infrastructure of the country’s main hydroelectric-related civil structure as rising temperatures, reduced precipitation and increased energy demand affect water levels at the 4,000-square-mile Guri Reservoir.  

The Crown Estate, one of the largest property owners in the United Kingdom, has launched a program of offshore leasing for small-scale marine hydrokinetic (MHK) testing and demonstration projects less than 3 MW. 

Hearings on a pair of bills held by the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week could potentially lead to an expansion of hydroelectric power in Alaska.

The European Commission's Climate Change Committee has approved a transfer of US$19.3 million in funding for tidal energy developer Atlantis Resources from the Kyle Rhea project to its 398-MW MeyGen project.

Schottel Hydro subsidiary, Black Rock Tidal Power (BRTP), has raised C$15 million (US$11.5 million) for investment in its 2.5-MW TRITON floating marine hydrokinetic energy platform.  

An educational campaign announced this week by the National Hydropower Association aims to increase awareness about the hydroelectric sector amongst the public and policymakers.

An educational campaign announced this week by the National Hydropower Association aims to increase awareness about the hydroelectric sector amongst the public and policymakers.

The government of Argentinian province San Juan signed an agreement with PowerChina earlier this week for financing of the 75-MW El Tambolar hydropower project.

The Chilean government's Council of Ministers rejected 27 claims filed by indigenous communities opposing the construction of the 210-MW Mediterraneo hydropower project, at least temporarily allowing development of the controversial plant to continue.

On Nov. 11, Germany-based Aquila Capital announced it has signed an agreement with four Norwegian utility companies -- Statkraft AS, Agder Energi, BKK and Skagerak Energi -- to acquire all shares of Smakraft AS, Norway's largest small-hydro company.  

Tidal energy developer Atlantis Resources remains on track to deliver power to the Scottish power grid from the MeyGen site in the coming year, according to an end-of-year statement issued by the company earlier this week.

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has signed Flemish wave energy developer Laminaria to test its marine hydrokinetic (MHK) energy device at EMEC’s grid-connected wave test site at Billia Croo, off the west coast of Orkney, Scotland.
 

Test operations are under way at Norte Energia's 11.2-GW Belo Monte hydropower plant, developer Norte Energia said in a statement.

Published reports indicate the 165-MW Sultan Mahmud hydroelectric facility located on the Kenyir River in the interior district of Hulu Terengganu, Malaysia, suffered no damage after a 2.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded 10 km below the surface of its catchment, Kenyir Lake, at 9:25 p.m. local time on Feb. 23.  

Clean, renewable energy is the single most needed technology by the millennial generation. Not only is it the key to slowing global warming and climate change, but it also solves a host of other problems, such as respiratory diseases and national security.

Tidal energy developer Atlantis Resources Ltd. has entered into a partnership agreement with infrastructure developer, investor and fund manager Equitix worth at least US$714 million.

Papua New Guinea recently became the first country to formally submit the final version of its national climate action plan (called a “Nationally Determined Contribution,” or NDC) under the Paris Agreement. The small Pacific nation’s plan to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030 is no longer just an “intended” nationally determined contribution (INDC) — it is now the country’s official climate plan.

More than a year after Prime Minister David Cameron publicly announced support for the Perpetuus Tidal Energy Center (PTEC), Great Britain’s Marine Management Organization (MMO) issued a license on April 20 to Royal HaskoningDHV to deploy and operate a proposed 30-MW tidal array at the center, located off the Isle of Wight.

Italian construction and civil engineering firm Salini Impregilo has been awarded a US$2.8 billion contract to build the 2,200-MW Koysha hydropower plant in Ethiopia.

American Municipal Power and the city of Hamilton held a dedication ceremony for the 105-MW Meldahl hydroelectric plant on June 2.

On June 8, during its annual forum held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the Canadian Hydropower Association announced the availability of an online map that depicts the country’s hydropower resources. Developed in coordination with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), CHA said the map is a tool to explore the story of Canadian hydropower development and learn about one of Canada’s greatest resources.
 

Hydroelectric power developer Gilkes Energy has begun construction on a trio of small hydro projects, all of which are to be located on the Attadale Estate near Loch Carron, Scotland.

Infrastructure investment firm Connor, Clark & Lunn has announced it will help finance the 12-MW Hunter Creek hydroelectric project near Hope, British Columbia.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has signed a memorandum agreement with the Southeastern Power Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority and Tennessee Valley Public Power Association, Inc., to perform a variety of work at Corps hydropower projects.

Canadian utility BC Hydro and the McLeod Lake Indian Band have forged an agreement that will give the aboriginal group "economic development opportunities and other benefits" related to the construction and operation of the Site C hydroelectric project.

Electricite de France (EDF) and the World Bank are joining with the government of Cameroon to fund the €$1.2 billion (US$1.3 billion), 420-MW Nachtigal hydropower plant.

Venezuela's government is lifting electricity rationing that began more than two months ago due to drought and rising temperatures that affected water levels at the 1,500-square-mile Guri Reservoir.
 

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has approved a supreme decree to carry out final design studies for the 3,251-MW El Chepete and 425-MW El Bala hydro projects in La Paz department.

On July 18, Empresa Publica de Producao de Electricidade (PRODEL) Project Manager, Celso Pontes, announced phase one at the 40-MW Matala hydroelectric project is complete and the detailed design of the second phase is now being prepared.
 

The U.S. Department of Energy released the long-awaited Hydropower Vision report -- alongside $9.8 million in funding for hydroelectric power -- earlier today at HydroVision International 2016 in Minneapolis.

The U.S. Department of Energy released the long-awaited Hydropower Vision report -- alongside $9.8 million in funding for hydroelectric power -- earlier today at HydroVision International 2016 in Minneapolis.

Brazil's Institute of the Environment and Natural Resources, Ibama, has decided not to award an environmental license for the Sao Luiz do Tapajos hydroelectric plant, effectively ending development of the controversial 8,000 MW project.

Brazil's Institute of the Environment and Natural Resources, Ibama, has decided not to award an environmental license for the Sao Luiz do Tapajos hydroelectric plant, effectively ending development of the controversial 8,000 MW project.

The 382-MW Ulu Jelai hydropower project, which began construction in 2011, is 95% complete and expected to be fully-commissioned in the third quarter of this year, in the district of Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia, according to state-owned power utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Malaysia's largest utility company and the project’s owner.
 

British Columbia-based tidal developer, Yourbrook Energy Systems Ltd., is testing what it calls a prototype of a shallow water tidal-powered generator pump that could one day be used as part of a pumped storage hydroelectric project.
 

RWE Innogy UK Ltd. is awaiting a decision by the end of August or in early September on its resubmitted planning application for the run-of-river US$17 million, 5 MW hydroelectric project located across Conwy Falls and Fairy Glen near Betws-y-Coed, the principal village of Snowdonia National Park, in northwest Wales, UK.  

In the case of the Fossil Fuel Industry, et. al. VS Earth, et. al., I find myself asking—not for the first time—is justice delayed, justice denied? It should come as no surprise that I am convinced it is.

As the water levels in dams in South Africa continue to dwindle, the 2015 Zimbabwe Humanitarian Situation Report notes that water levels in all of Zimbabwe’s seven catchment areas are about 18%, their worst levels in decades.
 

A Brazilian federal court has suspended an operating license for the 11.2-GW Belo Monte hydroelectric plant, stating that its developers have failed to provide water and sewage services to areas near the project.

Ivanhoe Mines announced today in a press release that the Mwadingusha hydropower plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has begun supplying an initial 11 MW of power to the national grid after upgrading and rehabilitating the first of six turbine-generators at the plant.
 

Electricite du Laos and General Electric have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch joint research and training programs designed to support the development of Laos' hydroelectric power sector and electric grid.

The World Bank has approved US$390 million in additional financing to be used by Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority for extensions of its Tarbela hydroelectric plant.

A pair of applications filed by the Klamath River Renewal Corporation today with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission puts into official motion a long-standing plan to remove four hydroelectric plants on the Klamath River.

By the time this column is published, oral arguments in the legal challenge to the Clean Power Plan will have already been made. The en banc panel of 10 appeals court judges is not likely to render its decision before the New Year.  No matter the opinion, it will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Construction resumed Oct. 4 on tunnel works after a brief work stoppage that began on Sept. 28 at the 20-MW Lower Modi Khola run-of-river hydropower facility.
 

Bernadette A. Hernandez-Sanchez, Ph.D., is a chemist and now the first female researcher from Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) to receive the Outstanding Technical Achievement award from Great Minds in STEM.
 

Chile's Schwager Energy and China-based Shenyang Yuanda Commercial & Investment Co. signed a memorandum of understanding on Nov. 3 to build the 3-MW Los Pinos run-of-the-river hydroelectric plant in southern Chile's Lagos region, according to BN Americas.
 

A consortium of banks has agreed to finance about Rs 1.60 billion (US$23.7 million) for the 10-MW Langtang Khola hydropower project on the Langtang River located in the Rasuwa district in the Himalaya region of Nepal.