On 29th October, 2024, the International Hydropower Development Conference was held in Beijing. The conference, with the theme of Hydropower and Renewable Energy - Synergistic Intergration for Future Energy Systems, was jointly organized by the China Society for Hydropower Engineering, the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (Office for China-IRENA Cooperation), and China Huadian Overseas Investment Co. Ltd.. Mr. Xiang Haiping, Chief Engineer of the National Energy Administration, Mr. Zhang Ye, Chairman of the China Society for Hydropower Engineering, Mr. Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, and Mr. Li Sheng, President of the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, attended the conference and delivered speeches. Dr. Xu Jincai, Director of the International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP), was invited to attend the conference and the Panel Discussion.
At the Panel Discussion - Promote the Development of Low-carbon Sustainable Future Energy Systems, Mr. Clifford Polycarp, Senior Expert of the World Resources Institute, Mr. Ahmed Nasr, Researcher of the National Water Research Center of Egypt, Mr. Huw Slater, Climate and Energy Expert of the ClientEarth, Mr. Luo Tianyi, Director of the Weilan Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., and Ms. Nirina Khadgi, Co-Chair of the Youth Committee of the Asian Water Council, participated in the discussion. Dr. Xu Jincai introduced the complementary practices of small hydropower and other renewable energy sources at home and abroad. Among the more than 41000 small hydropower stations built in China, more than 10000 stations have the reservoir with a storage capacity over 100000 m3, which can fully play the role of small hydropower in energy storage and regulation, and promote the consumption of renewable energy such as solar and wind energy. Especially for the existing cascade power stations, its’ energy storage and regulation role will be even greater if they are renovated into small pumped storage power stations. Many developing countries can form the multi energy complementary mode to achieve power supply and poverty alleviation through developing small hydropower and utilizing wind and solar energy according to local conditions. In recent years, based on the natural endowments of hydropower, solar energy, and wind energy and the urgent demand for electricity supply in Africa, the ICSHP has actively leveraged its international platform advantages to carry out cooperation with key countries in Africa on multi energy complementary work such as capacity building, demonstration & promotion, and standard cooperation, which further promoted rural electrification and sustainable development in African countries. ,
The International Hydropower Development Conference is an international branded conference created by the China Society for Hydropower Engineering and held once a year. The 2024 conference brought together nearly 300 domestic and foreign experts and representatives from various industries to attend the event. The Pakistan and Cambodia representative offices of the China Society for Hydropower Engineering set up branch venues respectively, and over 1.5 million people watched the live broadcast of the conference through multiple online platforms.
