Abstract
The CEDREN EcoManage project was finalized in December 2015 and the main objective of the project was the improved development and management of energy and water resources. Three main axes of management parameters were studied; 1) Energy indicators, 2) Water consumption in the hydropower sector and 3) the off-set options for ecosystem services. The first axis on energy indicators dealt with developing a consistent energy indicator framework which allows for reliable comparisons and benchmarking between technologies. This activity included calculation of Energy Payback Ratio, Net Energy Ratio and Cumulative Energy Demand values for different electricity generation technologies. The second axis dealt with developing a methodology for the assessment of water consumption in hydropower plants, allowing comparison with other enabling electricity production technologies by different water footprint methods. The final axis dealt with the demonstration of the applicability of the Ecosystem Services in identifying the full social costs of hydropower development and designing instruments to internalize these costs in hydropower developers and customers decision-making. Key research findings for each of the axes will be shown, with emphasis on implementation of the tools and concepts into the decision making processes for stakeholders in both industry and governmental management. Examples of methods and tools used in the study will be presented, showing the potential improvements in decision making. Finally a new project proposal will be presented as a continuation of the EcoManage project.
