Environmental groups oppose hydropower projects in the Alps on biodiversity grounds

Environmental groups from Germany and Austria have come out in opposition to two proposed hydropower projects in the Alps, emphasising their negative impacts on biodiversity, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported. “This energy could also be provided by two or three wind turbines. The contribution to the energy transition is therefore very small,” said Martin Geilhufe, Bavarian state representative for environmental organisation BUND. “However, the ecosystem of the river will be massively damaged. The relation between energy yield and damage is completely disproportionate.”

BUND is one of the organisations against a proposed plant in the Tittmoning basin on the Salzach river in Bavaria, and the expansion of an existing plant in the Kaunertal valley in Tyrol, Austria. Other organisations against the hydropower projects include Global 2000, WWF and the German Alpine Association.

For the expansion project in Kaunertal, up to 80 percent of the mountain rivers Venter and Gurgler Ache would have to be diverted. “This would affect all aspects of life, such as agriculture, tourism, water balance, recreational value and, last but not least, biodiversity in the [Öztaler Ache river],” said Reinhard Scheiber, chairman of the Our Water association. Süddeutsche Zeitung noted that 96 percent of the citizens in the Austrian municipality of Sölden voted against the expansion of the existing hydropower plant. “The climate crisis can only be overcome if natural ecosystems are also protected,” said Viktoria Auer, climate and energy spokesperson for Global 2000.

In the first six months of 2024, hydropower made up eight percent of renewable electricity generation in Germany. Bavarian industry sources have said that the effects of climate change will drive up the energy generated by hydropower due to increasingly rainy winter months. The Bavarian government has initiated policiesto take over much of the state's hydropower infrastructure.