Legal issues in connection with the revision of hydropower plant licenses – assessment of modern environmental requirements and unreasonable costs

The project aims to investigate the meaning of modern environmental conditions, the application of exemptions due to unreasonable costs, the possibility of deviations from environmental quality standards, and how costs and benefits should be assessed in the relicensing process of hydropower plants—including who is responsible for conducting environmental valuation studies.

The NAP process for Swedish hydropower involves several challenges related to the interpretation and application of the legal framework at both EU and national levels. These challenges include assessing what constitutes modern environmental conditions in the context of hydropower, defining heavily modified water bodies, and determining under what circumstances environmental quality standards may be deviated from. It also includes evaluating how the concept of unreasonable costs should be interpreted.

The project will investigate:

1. The substantive content of “modern environmental conditions” – What does this entail in terms of, for example, precautionary principles, best available technology, and energy efficiency?

2. The application and scope of the exemption due to “unreasonable costs” – How has this criterion been applied in relevant EU and EES countries, and how can/should it be applied in the ongoing relicensing of hydropower plants?

3. The legal room for deviation or discussion regarding environmental quality standards – What legal options exist if an operator believes that the environmental quality standards do not accurately reflect the status of the water body?

4. The assessment of costs and benefits in the relicensing process – How can/should environmental valuation studies be evaluated in the legal process, and by whom?