The development of new hydro schemes, and project upgrades, are major priorities for the Portuguese power sector. Portugal’s most important electricity producer EDP, our co-host for HYDRO 2010, has an existing portfolio of 74 hydro plants, totalling more than 4700 MW. The company plans to commission at least 22 new hydro generating units by 2018. This will increase capacity by about 3000 MW. Portugal will therefore have much to show, and to discuss, during HYDRO 2010. Study tours will showcase some of the multipurpose hydro and pumped-storage schemes in various parts of the country.
As usual, the Conference will focus strongly on the needs, priorities and plans of the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, and the conference will focus on technical, economic, commercial and environmental/social aspects. A major Technical Exhibition will run alongside the Conference.
The capital of Portugal since its conquest from the Moors in 1147, Lisbon is a legendary city with more than 20 centuries of history. In its golden age, the city gained a reputation as the eighth wonder of the world. As one of the greatest maritime centres in history, the Portuguese capital imported exotic wares from the distant parts of its empire, marking a new era in world trade.
The city offers a mix of traditional and modern architecture: Many medieval facades and old palaces have been restored, 19th-century Art Nouveau buildings can still be found and there are also modern museums and galleries. The majestic Vasco de Gama Bridge across the Tagus is an outstanding landmark. The Congress Centre is on the bank of the Tagus, close to the charming old quarter named Belem.
A Call for Papers will be issued shortly. Meanwhile, if you would be interested to receive more details of HYDRO 2010, please use the form overleaf to contact us.
Hydro 2010 Venue
Portugal And Hydropower
The development of new hydro schemes and project upgrades are major priorities for the Portuguese power sector. Portugal’s most important electricity producer, EDP, our co-host for HYDRO 2010, has an existing portfolio of 74 hydro plants, totalling more than 4700 MW. The company plans to commission at least 22 new hydro generating units by 2018. This will increase capacity by about 3000 MW.
Portugal will therefore have much to show, and to discuss, during HYDRO 2010, as the programme on the following pages shows. Study tours will visit some of the multipurpose hydro and pumped-storage schemes in various parts of the country. | |  |
Lisbon As Hydro 2010 Host City
The capital of Portugal since its conquest from the Moors in 1147, Lisbon is a legendary city with more than 20 centuries of history. In its golden age, the city gained a reputation as the eighth wonder of the world. As one of the greatest maritime centres in history, the Portuguese capital imported exotic wares from the distant parts of its empire, marking a new era in world trade. Lisbon offers a mix of traditional and modern architecture: Many medieval façades and old palaces have been restored, 19th-century Art Nouveau buildings can still be found and there are also modern museums and galleries. The majestic Vasco de Gama Bridge across the Tagus is an outstanding landmark. The Congress Centre is on the bank of the Tagus, close to the charming old quarter, Belem.
Lisbon Portela airport is just 7 km north of the city, and connects with 84 international cities.
Aqua-Media And The Hydro Conferences
Aqua-Media has been recognized during 2009 for the contribution the company makes to sustainable hydropower development. The company received the Turkish Prime Minister’s Water Prize (during the World Water Forum in Istanbul) and two India Power awards (during the Green Power VI conference in New Delhi). The annual Hydro Conferences represent an important part of Aqua-Media’s role in promoting the benefits of well conceived hydro schemes.
HYDRO 2010 will be the 17th event in this annual series. The events, supported by international professional associations such as ICOLD, IEA, IWRA and ESHA, have steadily increased in size, scope and format. HYDRO 2009 in Lyon attracted 1750 delegates from a record 94 countries, making it the most international large-scale conference specifically devoted to hydropower. A similar gathering is expected in Lisbon.
Hydro 2010 Mission
As hydropower begins a new wave of development, with greater universal recognition of its multiple benefits and its vital role in sustainable development, there are still many parts of the world with vast untapped hydropower potential, where large proportions of the population still lack a reliable electricity supply. Our regional sessions in Lisbon will focus on Africa, Asia and Latin America. There will also be a session on current schemes in Europe, with a particular focus on repowering schemes in Portugal. The format of 2010 will comprise not only valuable technical presentations on a wide range of current topics, but also high-level panel debates and inter-active workshops. Some special topics will be:
- Lessons learned from the accident at Sayano Shushensk in Russia, with a panel debate to follow about powerplant safety
- A debate on various models and approaches to water rights and hydropower concessions
- A workshop on current research on carbon emissions from reservoirs
- A discussion on dam safety
- A workshop on flow measurement
The programme aims to address practical issues, and to help turn positive policies into concrete actions. | |  |
Hydro 2010 Overview
Accompanying Persons’ Programme
Monday 27 September – Cascais and Sintra
The group will depart by coach at 09.30 hrs from the Congress Centre for the elegant seaside town of Cascais. Formerly a fishing village, it became a popular resort favoured by European nobility and kings in the early 20th century. Today it is a colourful cosmopolitan town. There will be a short visit to the Castro Guimarães Museum, housed in a mansion that once belonged to the Counts of Castro Guimarães. It overlooks the sea and is surrounded by a vast garden. Inside, many of its rooms have been preserved as the last residents left them in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a collection artifacts including gold and silver, ceramics, sculpture, and fine furniture. | |  |
The tour will then proceed to Sintra for lunch at the Casa dos Penedos restaurant, followed by a visit to the Royal Palace and Castle. Sintra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as a result of its 19th Century romantic architecture.
On the way back to Lisbon, there will be a stop for a wine tasting in the Colares Wine Cellar.
The return will be by 17.00 hrs, in good time to relax before the HYDRO 2010 Welcome reception at the Convento do Beato.
Tuesday 28 September – Lisbon city tour with lunch
The group will depart at 10.00 hrs from the Congress Centre. The trip will begin with a short tour around the old quarter of Lisbon (Belem), with a chance to view some of the most important sites including the Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery.
There will be a visit to the Tile Museum, located in the 16th Century Madre de Deus convent. Created in 1980, the museum features the tile exhibition that opened at the King João III cloister in 1971 as part of the National Museum of Ancient Art. Portuguese tiles from the 15th to the 21st century are on permanent display, organized chronologically in a total of 15 rooms. Exhibits range from early manufacturing techniques to designs by contemporary artists. The rooms which were original to the convent are richly decorated with paintings, tile panels, and gilded wood in the Mannerist and Baroque styles. One room features a Panorama of Lisbon, a tilework showing Lisbon as it appeared prior to the earthquake of 1755. | |  |
Lunch will be at the Bico do Sapato restaurant, overlooking the river Tagus.
In the afternoon there will be a visit to the bakery of the famous ‘Pasteis de Belem’ special cakes which originated in Lisbon at the beginning of the 19th century, and are now popular throughout the world. The factory was founded in 1837 at the site of a sugar refinery beside near the Jeronimos monastery, and produces the traditional sweet pastries based on a ‘secret recipe’ which is thought to have been invented by the monks.
The trip will end around 16.00 hours, in time to relax or go shopping.
The evening will be free for private parties or to explore the city.
Wednesday 29 September– Arrábida and Setúbal
Leaving around 09.30 hrs, the group will travel through the Arrábida Natural Park, with its spectacular landscape, on the northern slope of the Sado river estuary. The park, founded in 1976, covers 108 km2. The highest point is the Serra da Arrábida, at el. 499 m. The park covers the Arrábida Hills, with mediterranean-like vegetation and a microclimate resembling Adriatic locations such as Dalmatia. | |  |
The group will then continue to the elegant city of Setúbal where various monuments can be seen, including the Monastery of Jesus, with a 15th–16th century church that represents one of the first buildings in the Portuguese late Gothic style known as Manueline.
Also of interest is the São Julião Church, also with Manueline portals.
The Castelo de São Filipe is a 16th–17th century fortress on the north bank of the Sado river, overlooking the city. The fortress was converted into a luxury historical hotel (pousada). Lunch will be at the Pousada, overlooking the river.
En route back to Lisbon, there will be a stop for a short visit to the José Maria da Fonseca wine cellars, with a wine tasting.
The return to the city will be in good time to relax before the HYDRO 2010 dinner, hosted and organized by EDP.
Social Programme
Welcome reception
Evening of Monday 27 September
The HYDRO 2010 welcome reception will take place in the beautiful historical setting of Lisbon’s Convento do Beato. The cloisters, the old library, elegant archways, marble hallways and the charming terrace with its display of traditional Portuguese tiles, will provide much to admire during the welcome cocktails and buffet supper.
Supper will be based on the theme of ‘Portuguese Discovery’ with some special dishes and background music representing the cultures of Brazil, Goa, Macau, Mozambique and Angola. The evening will be a memorable and relaxing start to HYDRO 2010, with a chance to catch up with old friends, and make new contacts, in the international hydropower community. | |  |
Originally regarded as one of the largest and richest of Lisbon’s convents, Convento do Beato was built in the XV century in a place where there was once was a small chapel devoted to São Bento. Its history dates back to 1455, when Queen D. Isabel, wife of D. Afonso V, got permission from the abott of the Monastery of Alcobaça to build a hospice for the ‘Bons Homens de Vilar’ (Good Men of Vilar). When the Queen died, a legacy of 8000 golden crowns was left to pay for the completion of the work. The building later became a convent.
Thanks to its solid structure, it withstood the great earthquake of 1755. The building was later partly destroyed in a major fire, but its stone structure (XVI - XVIII centuries, with a surviving gothic arch from the XV century) and most of the doors (made of Brazilian hard wood), nevertheless survived. | |  |
Conference Dinner
Evening of Wednesday 29 September
The HYDRO 2010 Gala Farewell Dinner will be organized and hosted by the Conference Co-Host, EDP, and will take place at the Pavilhão Atlântico.
The Pavilion, overlooking the Tagus estuary on one side, and with a futuristic waterfront on the other, was built for the Expo in 1998, and has hosted political summits, major sporting events, and cultural activities.
Music, entertainment and gastronomic specialities are planned, to provide a memorable end to HYDRO 2010. | |  |
Pre-Conference Excursion In Lisbon
Sunday 26 September - Half day with lunch
An optional local excursion will be available for all HYDRO 2010 participants on the afternoon of Sunday 26 September, which will provide the opportunity to see some of the main sites of Lisbon, and to have lunch together in a historical building close to the São Jorge Castle.
There will be an opportunity to register for the conference, and collect badges and documents, before the trip.
The registration desk will be open from 09.00 hrs at the Lisbon Congress Centre.
Those taking part in the excursion will depart from the Congress Centre at 11.30 hrs, and will proceed to the old quarter of Lisbon (Belem) for a short guided tour and a chance to view some of the most important buildings. | |  |
A highlight of the excursion will be a visit to EDP’s Electricity Museum (see photo right). This Museum is located inside the old Tejo thermal power station, an architectural landmark with a façade of red brick, iron, and glass. The plant dates to 1908, when a small power station was built to supply Lisbon with electricity and to power gaslights. It was enlarged in 1919, when two generators and six low-pressure boilers were installed. The Tejo plant remained fully operational until 1954, and eventually closed down in 1975 and reopened in 1991 as the Electricity Museum. Exhibits today are devoted to the history of energy development in Portugal, and highlight the current and future role of renewable energy sources The main part of the permanent exhibition is the old power station, which still contains all its generating equipment (a highpressure boiler made by the Babcock & Wilcox Company of Britain) and groups of turbo-alternators.
The group will then proceed to the Casa do Leão, a historical pousada adjacent to the São Jorge castle. The castle and pousada are on a hill top overlooking the city and the Tagus river. After lunch there will be an opportunity to walk around, and to make a short visit to the castle. The castle’s strongly fortified citadel dates from medieval times in its present form. Historical research has shown that the site has been occupied by humans since the sixth century BC. From the 14th to 16th century, the castle served as a royal palace, and was the setting for the reception of the navigator Vasco da Gama, when he returned after discorvering a maritime route to India.
Return to the Congress centre will be by around 16.00 hrs. The conference registration desk will still be open.
Study Tour A ~ Alqueva
Thursday 30 September
Departure will be from Lisbon at 8.30 hrs. The group will travel by coach to the Alqueva multipurpose scheme, arriving around 10.30 hrs. There will be a technical briefing and a guided tour.
The original Alqueva scheme consists of a double arch concrete dam with a maximum height above the foundation of 96 m. The reservoir has a total capacity of 4.15 ×106 m3 at top water level (el. 152m). The principal purpose of the scheme is the irrigation of 115 000 ha of agricultural land. The existing power station is equipped with two pump-turbines with a total installed capacity of 240 MW. Downstream of Alqueva dam is the Pedrógão small hydro scheme, with a total installed capacity of 10 MW.
EDP is now constructing a new power station (Alqueva II), also to be equipped two pump-turbines at a plant on the right bank downstream of the dam; its technical characteristics will be very similar to the existing plant.
Excavations for the powerhouse and water intake have already been completed, and excavation work for the hydraulic circuits is due for completion later this year.
The gantry cranes will be installed during the last quarter of 2010, so that erection of the first machine can begin. The Alqueva II power station is expected to be in service by the second half of 2012.
At around 13.00 hrs the group will depart from Alqueva for a short drive to the Herdade do Esporão wine estate.
On arrival around 13.30 hrs, a welcome drink will be served, followed by lunch. There will be time to look around the wine estate, where olive oil as well as wine can be bought.
At around 16.30 hrs the group will depart for Évora, arriving at around 17.30 hrs. Check-in at the Hotel Mar de Ar Muralhas.
There will be time to rest or to walk in Évora before dinner at 20.00 hrs at the Pousada dos Loios (a short walk from the hotel).
Friday 1 October
Check-out of the hotel around 09.30 hrs after breakfast. There will be a guided walking tour in Évora, before departing at around 11.30 hrs for Palmela.
On arrival in Palmela around 12.45 hrs, the group will visit the castle and then continue on to the Pousada of Portugal for lunch.
The drive back to Lisbon will begin around 15.00 hrs, and arrival will be around 16.45 hrs.
Study Tour B - Bemposte II, Picote II, Venda Nova III
Thursday 30 September
Departure from Lisbon at 08.30 hrs for the drive to Viseu, in the heart of the Dão wine-growing region, arriving for lunch at the Pousada around 13.00 hrs. The setting for the Pousada is the former São Teotónio hospital, which opened in 1842, and was converted to a historical hotel in 2007.
After lunch, around 14.30 hrs, the group will continue through a scenic part of the Douro region to Mogadouro, and on to Miranda do Douro for dinner and an overnight stay. | |  |
Friday 1st October
Departure at 08.30 hrs for the Bemposta dam, arriving around 09.15 hrs.
There will be a briefing and tour of the facilities. The project for repowering the Bemposta scheme (Bemposta II) on the international branch of river Douro involves the construction of a new powerhouse, a new hydraulic circuit and the installation of a generator with a nominal capacity of 191 MW.
This project began in January 2008, and since then excavations for the lined shaft to the powerhouse has been completed, and erection of the generating unit has begun. For the hydraulic system the underground excavations, the intake and tailrace have been completed. The gantry crane has already been installed in the power cavern.
The new unit at Bemposta II is planned to be commissioned by the end of 2011. At 11.00 the tour will continue to Picote dam, arriving at 11.30 hrs.
The project for repowering Picote (Picote II ) also involves the construction of a new powerhouse, a new hydraulic circuit and the installation of a new generator with a nominal capacity of 246 MW.
Work began in 2007 and to date two temporary cofferdams have been completed at the Picote and Bemposta (downstream of Picote) reservoirs as well as excavations for the hydraulic tunnels and for the access tunnels and cavern and the installation of the travelling crane.
The erection of the new machine has already begun, as well as construction of the draft tube and spiral casing. The lined pressure tunnel is also finished. The new unit at Picote II it is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2011.
Lunch will be at Sendim around 13.30 hrs. Around15.00 hrs the journey will continue to Chaves, for an overnight stay at the 4* Hotel Casino. Chaves was one of the most important Roman settlements on the Iberian Peninsular. A Roman bridge still stands over the Tamega river.
Dinner will be an opportunity to experience excellent regional cuisine at the Adega do Faustino, a restaurant full of history, with a cellar which was originally a blacksmith’s workshop.
Saturday 2nd October
Check out at 08.30 hrs for the drive to Venda Nova dam, arriving around 10.00 hrs.
At Venda Nova, there will be a chance to view the site of the Venda Nova III repowering scheme, also known as Frades. The project involves the repowering of the existing Venda Nova scheme which will eventually have a capacity of 736 MW, with two variable speed pump-turbine units. The scheme is under construction, with a scheduled completion date of 2015. A tender was recently issued for equipment.
At 12.00 hrs the group will continue to Caniçada-Geres for lunch at the Pousada. The Pousada has a spectacular view of the river Cavado.
After lunch, at around 14.00 hrs, the tour will continue towards Braga, arriving around 15.00 hrs, where there will be a break for coffee and a short walk in the town. Construction of the Roman city of ‘Bracara Augusta’, today Braga, began in 27 BC. It was part of the Empire’s network crossing the Iberian peninsula to link it with Rome. The city’s rich history is reflected in its architecture and monuments.
At 16.30 hrs the coach will leave for the return journey to Lisbon. Around 19.30 hrs, there will be a stop at Condeixa a Nova for dinner at the Santa Cristina Restaurant within the Pousada de Condeixa a Nova. This is a former palace, constructed in the 16th century. For several years it received members of the European nobility.
After dinner, around 21.00 hrs, the coach will leave for the return to Lisbon, arriving around 22.30 hrs. Accommodation has been arranged for the group in Lisbon. The Tour will end on Sunday 3 October after breakfast. | |  |