NRG Expert has recently released its The Global Hydro Industry Historical, Present, and Future Generation Statistics to 2025 Report and Database.
Worldwide there is a growing trend to plan hydro projects that meet both local demand and the export market. The main barrier to getting these and other projects off the ground is poor access to finance. Several Chinese banks are offering financing for both domestic and international projects, especially in Africa. Usually these projects use Chinese companies such as Sinohydro, which constructs hydro projects, and Dong fang, a manufacturer of hydro turbines. Despite this competition, Alstom Power, Andritz and Voith Hydro remain as the main manufacturers of hydro turbines.
Collectively these companies hold 80% of the total market share and are horizontally integrated across the sector. All offer products and services for the lifetime of the plant and have moved into the tidal or ocean energy market.
More environmentally friendly hydro products are likely to enter the market in the future as the environmental impact of projects along with local opposition from tribal groups are significant barriers to the development of projects. In China many hydro projects are on hold pending environmental review. In North America hydro projects in tribal lands need the consent of the local community to go ahead. Not to mention projects in the Amazon basin can involve the relocation of tribal communities.
Over the mid-term NRG EXPERT expects considerable growth in new hydro capacity. Most growth is expected in the Asia Pacific region, especially in the growing economic power houses of China and India. Along with neighbouring countries which export excess electricity over their borders. Significant growth is also expected in Latin America. In the developed world pumped storage is going to keep a pace with growth of intermittent renewable capacity. Small hydro is likely to continue to grow in Europe due to generous feed-in tariffs. Canada and he USA are likely to continue uprating existing facilities. Large projects may be fewer and far between, especially projects with limited storage capacity. As their output is highly dependent upon rainfall, and future rainfall patterns are very hard to predict, and how they might be affected by climate change.
