Alstom U.S. President Calls for More Public Engagement during Hydro Industry Keynote

Pierre Gauthier at Hydrovision.jpg

Let’s Get Watered Up!

That was the challenge Pierre Gauthier, Alstom’s Country President for the U.S. and Canada, delivered today in a keynote speech to delegates from across the North American hydroelectric power industry. 

Gauthier’s remarks, which kicked-off the 2012 HydroVision International conference in Louisville, Kentucky, painted hydroelectricity as ‘the silent renewable.’ After citing the expansion of hydro power in the U.S. and Canada, he explored how various obstacles – from regulation to public opposition – slowed the development of this important renewable energy resource.

“As the global energy discussion shifted focus to addressing climate change, hydro was not seen as part of the solution to the same extent as were wind and solar,” he added. “Even today, as new regulations place tighter and tighter restrictions on fossil fuel power plants, hydro rarely earns even a footnote mention in ‘future of energy’ stories.”

While many of the largest hydro power sites in the United States already have been developed, Pierre pointed out there are still opportunities for new development. According to a study by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, non-generating dams in the U.S. could generate more than 12 gigawatts of clean electricity if outfitted with hydroelectric equipment. Pumped storage power plants, the only option currently available for storing large quantities of electricity for on-demand release, can be used to balance the intermittency of other renewable energy sources like wind and solar. 

But, according to Gauthier, the public needs to have a better understanding of what hydro is – and isn’t – before we can develop these resources.

“We can no longer afford to have hydro’s voice go unheard in the energy debate,” Gauthier continued.

Citing data that illustrates how hydroelectricity has slipped from the public consciousness, he issued a rallying cry for the industry to launch a large-scale educational and grassroots engagement campaign.

The goal: to put hydro back on the agenda and better realize the potential of a renewable energy source that is domestic, sustainable, abundant and competitively priced.

Moving forward, Alstom’s U.S. and Canadian teams will look for new ways to engage with schools, community groups and other organizations to build support for hydro power in areas where the company is executing large-scale hydro projects.

Today, Alstom is the global leader in equipment, services and technology for hydroelectric power generation. The company’s hydro portfolio accounts for more than 25% of the world’s installed capacity.

Shaping the Discussion

In addition to Pierre Gauthier’s keynote speech, Alstom hydro technology experts contributed to the official HydroVision agenda with presentations including:

• Computational Fluid Dynamics to Improve Turbine Discharge Measurements at Site

• Upgrading Pumped Storage Plants (PSP’s) into Variable Speed Coupled with Efficient Energy and Market Management Solutions: A Key Opportunity 

• High Partial Discharge Hydraulic Instability of Francis Turbines: Understanding and Minimizing the Impacts 

• Adjustable Speed Pumped Storage Plants – Innovation, Challenges and Feedback of Experience from Projects in Switzerland 

• Pumped Storage Development – Preparing for Challenges and Seizing Opportunities

Check back soon for links to these presentations.

We offer a wide range of technologies for generating electricity from Earth's most abundant renewable resource.

• HydroVision 2012
• National Hydropower Association
• Canadian Hydropower Association

• P.Gauthier Bio