Environmental improvement through revision of terms of hydropower licences

To improve environmental conditions of old hydropower licences and to implement the objectives of the European Water Framework Directive in Norway, revision of the terms of licenses is considered the most important instrument. We examined the completed revisions to give an overview of processes, content and outcomes. The first completed revisions were long-lasting processes. They incorporated the claims of the interest groups to a varying degree while often seeking “middle ground” solutions that had low impact on hydropower production. Future revisions could be improved by conducting more structured, empirically based analyses of costs and benefits. More holistic assessments of all licenses in the river basin could enhance the outcome. Including the potential for upgrading and extending the hydropower production in a systematic way, will further improve the results.