The Second Report on the State of the Alps has revealed a high number of hydropower stations already in place as well as their considerable impacts on ecology of waters. Nevertheless the Alps as a whole still possesses the technical potential for further hydropower generation. This holds true for small as well as for large hydropower.
The goal of this report is thus to provide substantial background information on hydropower (with a focus on small hydropower) in order to provide the basis for the elaboration of "Common Guidelines for the Use of Small Hydropower in the Alpine Region" mandated by the Xth Ministerial Conference of the Alpine Conference in Evian, March 2009.
The basis of this report is information received from Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland (for details please see annex 1) based on templates circulated to all countries within the Alpine area (Monaco has no hydropower sites and has thus been excluded). This report covers a broad range of issues; however - acknowledging the complexity of the issue - it refrains from going into very detail by focusing strictly on the goals of the report to provide a brief orientation and a frame for drafting the common guidelines.

AC11/B8/1