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Small hydropower plants (SHP) are an integral part of Colombia’s energy transition and energy security, representing 5.2 percent of the country's current energy mix, with capacity expected to more than double in the coming years. With 65 percent of Colombia's territory lying outside the interconnected power grid, this growth can improve access to clean energy and support decentralization of the energy system, promoting a low carbon model. However, this sector faces growing climate challenges, such as droughts and irregular rainfall, which affect the ecosystem service of water regulation in the territories where SHPs operate, directly impacting the availability and stability of river flows.

This working paper proposes a replicable methodology that can be adapted to the realities of different SHPs across the country, enabling the assessment of climate risks through indicators of sensitivity, adaptive capacity and hazard, with water resources considered the central element of exposure.

Strengthening the generation, access and quality of climatological, hydrological, socioeconomic and operational information for these hydropower plants, in terms of scale, timeliness and coverage, will enable more precise and effective planning and implementation of actions to address climate change by the sector, territorial entities and other key actors in the operating environment of small-scale hydropower. It also provides insights for the public sector to help align SHPs energy planning with territorial management and basin protection, ensuring water supply, the operation of the plants, and the well-being of local communities.

The national government, territorial actors and private-sector companies in the hydropower sector play a key role in leading capacity-building and territorial governance processes to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of SHPs.

Key Findings:

  • In Colombia, despite the increase in SHP-type projects across the country, the available studies on assessing climatic and hydroclimatic risks for hydropower generation focus more on large reservoirs, due to policies and regulatory frameworks that drive investment in these projects.
  • There are few SHP case studies that specifically identify the challenges involved in strengthening their local and distributed energy production model, based on an assessment of their vulnerability and climate risk in their territorial contexts. Therefore, it is necessary to advance this type of analysis to ensure the sustainability of small-scale hydropower in the country, as a key pillar of its energy matrix.
  • The climate vulnerability and risk methodology developed in this study is established as a reference framework for SHPs in Colombia. Thanks to its flexible and adaptive nature, this methodology can be replicated across diverse SHP projects nationwide. Its purpose is to guide the actions that companies in the sector should take regarding climate change adaptation.