The Ministerial Plenary Session on Hydropower held at the 10th General Assembly of IRENA was a success for the Swiss delegation.

Pictured: Benoît Revaz at IRENA Assembly in Abu Dhabi

Switzerland received support from nearly 40 countries at the event in Abu Dhabi on 12 January 2020, writes Simon Büschi, Diplomatic Advisor, Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE).

Switzerland, together with the International Hydropower Association (IHA), the World Bank, Norway and other IRENA member countries, co-organised the Ministerial Plenary Session. It built on the first-ever IRENA Hydropower Event, which was initiated by Switzerland and took place at the 9th General Assembly in January 2019.

The Ministerial Plenary Session allowed for a lively debate among panelists from UNIDO, the World Bank, EDF Hydro and many IRENA member countries. It provided Ministers and key private sector decision-makers greater insights on the role of hydropower in the energy transition, as a means to increase energy access and as a source of flexibility, reliability and resilience to power systems. It also raised awareness on the need for financing and the importance of fleet modernisation to ensure the longevity of existing hydropower fleets, as well as on the need to account for climate resiliency measures.

Switzerland has been advocating throughout its membership in the IRENA Council that IRENA afford more attention to hydropower. A key element of the Plenary Session was the proposal of State Secretary and Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) Benoît Revaz to establish an IRENA Hydropower Group. The Group is to steward the cause of hydropower in IRENA. More than 40 member countries supported the Swiss idea.

Among the countries, Colombia proposed that IRENA’s work on hydropower focus on market and policy design. Ghana recalled that hydropower has been the bedrock of industrialization in most African countries. Hydropower has made Ghana’s smelting plant possible because of its affordability and reliability. Norway mentioned that hydropower has been fundamental in its economic and social development and that it is not only a great asset in the context of climate mitigation and variable renewables, but also a major asset for mitigating floods. Costa Rica underlined that it is not only important to preserve hydropower resources but to ensure that the technology used is up-to-date. Further supportive statements were made by Bhutan, Canada, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, the International Energy Agency and others.