Roundup: World Hydropower Congress pledges commitment towards better hydro

The 2017 World Hydropower Congress, which was held from May 9 to 11 in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, was wrapped up later Thursday with commitment towards better hydro, and building sustainable energy for Africa in particular.

A broad range of organizations and institutions participated in the Congress and expressed their respective commitments to the better hydro cause.

They have underlined the need to forge solid partnership and working together towards better hydro as well as to building clean and sustainable energy.

The biennial conference, which came to Africa for the first time, was held at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

The 2019 World Hydropower Congress will be hosted in Paris, France, according to a statement from International Hydropower Association (IHA) later Thursday.

Leading the closing session, Archana Agrawal, joint secretary at the Indian Ministry of Power, delivered a speech under the title, "great and ambitious plans for Africa, the rising giant for hydropower."

She said it would be "a great thing" to witness the sustainable energy transformation of the African continent.

Cheick Ould Bedda, AU Director of Infrastructure and Energy, hailed the Congress as "a world class event" and expressed commitment of the pan-African bloc and that of African countries towards better hydro.

Antoine Badinier, deputy vice-president of EDF Hydropower Generation & Engineering Division, commended Ethiopia and all of the African countries for their efforts to promote sustainable energy.

Stating EDF's vision of "green and shared growth" to benefit future generations, he underlined the need to modernize the energy systems, saying, "our energy is old, we need to change the way we develop it and ensure everyone can benefit from it."

Lin Chuxue, executive vice president of China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG), expressed CTG's continued commitment to supporting the World Hydropower Congress.

He noted that the Company is committed to building expertise and capabilities, together with IHA (International Hydropower Association), NGOs and development agencies, to assist African countries in harnessing their water and hydropower resources in a sustainable way.

Guo Ricai, co-president of China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co Ltd, underlined the need to "improve interconnection and boost the construction of cross-continental and national smart grids."

Guo reaffirmed the company's commitment to the World Hydropower Congress and the better hydro cause.

Speaking on the "opportunities to modernize hydro for the better," Robin Goodman, GE Renewable Energy's hydro services leader, expressed the company's commitment to "boosting local capabilities and the sustainability of our industry" through a capacity-building program.

Zhou Xiong, general manager of Shandong Electrical Engineering and Equipment Co Ltd, expressed his company's commitment to providing the highest quality products and services to support the energy transition in Africa.

He called on the hydropower community to "join hands and work together to achieve the sustainable development of hydro in an interconnected world."

Linus Mofor from the UNECA African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) said, "better hydro will play a key role in the structural transformation we are promoting for Africa" and called for climate resilience to be fully integrated into better hydro.

Ken Adams, President of IHA, closed the session and announced the launch of the Better Hydro Compendium of Case Studies 2017, a collection of examples of good practice in sustainable hydropower. Endit