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. 

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].
 

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.

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.

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.

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.  

Capping a busy February for the European Marine Energy Centre is an announcement that tidal turbine manufacturer Tocardo has signed a 20-year deal for testing at EMEC's array in Orkney.

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.

Scotland-based power and environmental consultant Aquatera Ltd. Has entered into a partnership with the Nagasaki Marine Industry Cluster Promotion Association in an effort to help Japan bolster its marine energy sector through international collaboration.

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.

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.
 

Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (Cemig) of Brazil recently released its first quarter earnings and revealed it has already spent almost half of its forecast investment total for 2016, spending BRL2.15 billion (US$610 million) from January to March, according to BNamericas.

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.
 

Recently I traveled to San Francisco to participate in international efforts to meet the challenge of climate change and accelerate the global transition to clean energy. The main event was the Seventh Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7), a meeting of 23 countries and the European Commission.

Hydroelectric power developer Snowdonia Pumped Hydro has withdrawn its application for environmental permits for the 99.9-MW Glyn Rhonwy pumped-storage plant from Natural Resources Wales.

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.

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.
 

According to a presidential order issued Aug. 12 by the Myanmar government, a commission will form to examine the 6,000-MW Myitsone hydropower project proposed for Kachin, Mynamar. Locally published reports indicate when complete, Yunnan China would receive much of the energy from the facility under the project’s original agreement.
 

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.

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.

Developer SN Aboitiz Power-Ifugao has said it remains committed to developing the 390-MW Alimit hydropower project in the Philippines, pending consent from indigenous groups impacted by its construction.

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.

On Sept. 3, U.S. President Barack Obama and China's President, Xi Jinping, formally agreed to participation in the negotiated 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) Paris Agreement, a global agreement on the reduction of climate change.
 

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.