The article is dedicated to a comprehensive analysis of hydropower as a strategic sector that ensures energy security and a low-carbon transition. Along with the benefits, the ecological risks are analyzed, including flooding of territories, alteration of coastal ecosystems, and hindrance to fish migration. Special attention is given to the evolution of legal regulation of water use in Russia – from Roman law and medieval codes to Soviet nationalization and the modern Water Codes of 1995 and 2006. It is shown that after the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydropower Plant (2009), protective zones were established and safety requirements were tightened, although the issue of vibrational impact on the areas around dams remains unregulated. The institutional gap between the support for small hydropower (up to 50 MW) within the mechanisms of the Capacity Supply Agreement for renewable energy sources and the lack of similar measures for large hydropower plants is investigated. The methodological basis of the article consists of a comprehensive approach that integrates historical, comparative-legal, statistical, and systemic methods of analysis. The historical method allowed tracking the evolution of hydropower technologies, revealing the key technological and economic prerequisites of each stage. The systemic method was used to consider hydropower as a multi-factor system interacting with economic, ecological, technological, and legal subsystems. Based on the international experiences of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, the feasibility of creating specialized supervisory bodies for water resources and hydraulic structures is justified. A historical overview of the development of the industry from water wheels to modern mega-hydropower plants is provided, along with an analysis of the current global market dominated by China, Brazil, and the USA. Russia, possessing the export potential of hydropower technologies, should develop the sector in a balanced manner, combining ecological requirements, economic security, and international competitiveness. The author concludes that the growing interest in the development of hydropower and nuclear energy, intensified after the energy crisis of 2022, as well as their recognition as low-carbon energy sources, is driven not only by ecological but also by economic factors, including the need for predictable and stable energy systems. This confirms a sustainable trend towards the expansion of hydropower both in Russia and abroad.
Evgenii Vladimirovich Lomkov (Tue,) studied this question.