ABSTRACT
Consumers who are responsive to green electricity usually share concerns about the environmental impacts of hydropower production. Therefore, marketing of green hydropower will only be possible if its negative environmental impacts are minimized. Green electricity markets have been developed in recent years in several European countries including Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Swedish environmental organizations wanted to inhibit incentives in the green electricity market for new hydropower plants. Criteria for determining green hydropower are essentially meaningless from an environmental perspective. Sooner or later, these criteria will create considerable uncertainty among consumers when negative examples of certified hydropower plants are discussed publicly. In light of negative experience, Green-e is about to drop the single-criterion approach and develop an encompassing set of criteria for green hydropower plants.
