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.

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.  

During the Ocean Energy Europe 2015 conference held in Dublin, Ireland, in late October, about 500 high-level delegates, which included European Union and Member States business leaders and energy ministers, were presented a draft of the “strategic roadmap” for developing the European marine hydrokinetics (MHK) energy sector.
 

As the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) of Zambia and Zimbabwe seeks to secure funding for the 2,400-MW Batoka Gorge hydroelectric facility, the region is experiencing rolling blackouts based on reduced inflow to existing hydroelectric generating facilities. 

Murilo Ferreira, chairman of Brazil-based energy conglomerate Petrobras (Petroleo Brasileiro SA), has stepped down effective Nov. 30.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed bipartisan hydroelectric power regulatory improvement provisions as part of the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015, potentially helping to expedite the project approval process.

The US$1.6 billion Northern Pass transmission line that could tap into 1,096 MW from Canada’s largest hydropower producer, HydroQuebec, was approved Dec. 7, by a 6-0 vote of New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee [SEC].
 

Congress today announced details of a year-end tax deal that could provide a two-year extension on provisions for hydroelectric and marine hydrokinetic resources.

Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyberattackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid.
 

Marine hydrokinetics (MHK) company BioPower Systems (BPS) reports it deployed its 250 kW bioWAVE pilot demonstration unit, Dec. 16, in the Southern Ocean off the southeastern coast of Australia near Port Fairy, Victoria.
 

A significant step to develop the first megawatt from the marine hydrokinetic (MHK) Sotenas Wave Energy Plant off of Sweden’s west coast took place earlier this month when a 120-ton subsea generator switchgear was deployed and connected to the Swedish national power grid via a 10-km-long subsea cable.
 

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

The New Development Bank (NDB), which has an authorized capital of US$100 billion, could provide additional opportunities to fund development of new hydroelectric projects.
 

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.

The Cascade Generation Station on the Seguin River in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, is being upgraded from 1.2 MW to 3.4 MW, according to the project’s owner, Parry Sound PowerGen Corp.
 

Development-ready sites, with existing reservoirs for new pumped hydro energy storage plants, offer generation potential of 2,291 GWh, according to a newly released report from the eStorage Project.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon ruled on May 4 that the 2014 Columbia Basin salmon biological opinion violates the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act, and declared it invalid.

Less than two weeks after 175 nations signed the pivotal Paris Agreement on climate change, a question lingers: What happens now?

A report released this month by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) indicates hydropower development in India can play a crucial role in the country’s sustainable energy security if sites for new installed capacity -- among other things -- are accessible, stable and affordable.
 

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.

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.

Brexit; It’s been the buzz word dominating the media recently and it’s likely to continue for some time. The UK’s decision to leave the EU has left both supporting sides of the ‘leave’ and ‘remain’ campaign in a somewhat collective state of uncertainty as to how this decision will impact the country right now and in the future years.

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.

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.
 

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.

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.  

Brazilian power regulator Agencia Nacional de Eneria Eletricqa (Aneel) has set wholesale cap prices for an upcoming power auction that includes more than 130 small hydroelectric plants.

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.

The United States and China on Sept. 3 formally joined the Paris Agreement in a ceremony in Hangzhou, China, ahead of the G20 Summit. President Obama and President Xi both deposited their country’s official instrument with United Nations Secretary, General Ban-Ki Moon.

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.

Zambia and Zimbabwe have appointed the African Development Bank (AfDB) as lead financial adviser for the construction of the 2,400-MW Batoka Gorge hydropower project, according to Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) Chief Executive Officer, Munyaradzi Munodawafa.
 

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.
 

In Abuja, Nigeria, on Oct. 25, Nigeria’s Minster of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Shehuri, and Lv Zeziang, president of China Gezhouba Group International Company Ltd. (CGGC), joined other government and company officials in dedicating CGGC’s North Central and West Africa headquarters.
 

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Patty Murray, D-Wash., today announced funding will be awarded to build the United States’ first open-ocean, power grid-connected wave energy test facility at a site off the Oregon coast, according to a U.S. Senate press release.
 

Manitoba Hydro has announced that it will eliminate more than 15% of its workforce while raising rates by at least 10% as the provincial utility's efforts to cut expenditures continue.

Power Africa and Trade Africa Coordinator, Andrew Herscowitz, announced on Feb. 14 during the Abuja Electricity Distribution Co.’s two-day Distribution Company Workshop in Abuja, Nigeria, that the U.S. will invest US$1billion in the country through the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs announced today it has approved investment for the generation component of the 900-MW Arun 3 hydropower project on Arun River in Sankhuwasabha district of eastern Nepal, for an estimated Rs. 5723.72 crore (US$854.4 million).
 

The Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) released a report today saying its US$133.4 million 10.6-MW Pulanai hydropower plant being constructed in the southern province of Bukidnon on the Island of Mindanao, was attacked by armed individuals on Feb. 25.

The partnership between Manitoba Hydro and four First Nations via the Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership (KHLP) announced a significant increase in its control budget and a revised commissioning date for the 695-MW Keeyask Generating Station in a statement on March 7.
 

The user selection board of the €11 million (US$11.8 million) Funding Ocean Renewable Energy through Strategic European Action (FORESEA) project has awarded “Recommendations for Support” to 15 offshore renewable energy technologies, according to an announcement today from FORESEA.  

New Hampshire is preparing to follow the lead of other New England states and create a system for procuring renewable energy on behalf of residents.