Water and Marine Resources

Identification process for impacts, risks, and opportunities

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To identify material IROs related to water and marine resources, Alpiq conducted a DMA as described in the chapter Material Sustainability Matters.

For the assessment of water and marine resources-related IROs, internal experts reviewed business activities in Alpiq’s own operations, as well as in the upstream and downstream value chain, and developed a qualitative assessment of the (potential) impacts on the environment.

The DMA identified two material negative impacts related to water use affecting water availability and the condition of habitats in Alpiq’s upstream partner hydropower plants as well as in its own operations.

In line with the TNFD LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Analyse and Prepare) approach and to further extend on the qualitative assessment done through the DMA, Alpiq used the WWF Water Risk Filter to map its sites and assets with respect to water resources. The tool categorises risks across 26 industry classifications. Alpiq’s assets fall into one of three electric energy production categories: (i) hydropower, (ii) geothermal or combustion (for gas-fired & nuclear power plants), or (iii) solar and wind.

The WWF Water Risk Filter integrates physical risks associated with potential deterioration of ecosystem services across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments, as well as reputational and regulatory risks. The assessment focused on water availability risks. Water is an essential resource for most of Alpiq’s electricity and energy generation activities, whether for direct electricity generation via hydropower plants, cooling of power plants, or hydrogen production through water splitting. It is therefore critical to map and monitor whether assets are located in water-stressed areas, in order to reduce the risk of water-use conflicts or shortages.

Specifically, the Baseline Water Stress indicator, which measures the ratio of total surface and groundwater withdrawals to available renewable water, indicates a high level of risk. This risk has already materialised in southern Italy, where prolonged above-average temperatures, repeated warm spells, and low precipitation led to severe drought conditions in 2024. The San Severo power plant in Puglia uses air-based cooling, with auxiliary systems operating in a closed-loop circuit. Most of its water consumption is linked to the Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) supply and the fogging system, which cools the air entering the gas turbine when outside temperatures exceed 15 °C. In September 2024, the plant’s water supplier warned that, due to critically low reservoir levels, water deliveries would be suspended once minimum thresholds were reached. Although no interruption has occurred to date, the risk remains significant for future operations. Alpiq is mitigating this risk by applying for authorisation to construct a well for industrial, irrigation, and fire-fighting purposes.

In addition, the gas power plant in Spain shows a high risk of blue water scarcity, which compares surface and groundwater consumption with total blue water availability. This risk is directly mitigated by the fact that the plant’s cooling water is sourced from the ocean.

More broadly, the plants in southern Italy (e.g. San Severo gas power plant, as well as solar and wind power plants in Sicily) and the gas power plant in Spain are at high risk of water scarcity under both current conditions and 2030 scenarios. For 2050 scenarios, the outlook worsens to very high risk for the assets in Italy.

For Switzerland, although the risk filter tool evaluates water scarcity as low risk, the country is expected to be more strongly affected than many other regions by climate change-related impacts on water availability: rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns and, critically, the rapid retreat of Alpine glaciers affect the timing and volume of water inflows, sediment transport, and ultimately the reliability of hydropower production. Alpiq has been working on these topics since 2010 in collaboration with ETH Zurich to model and predict future developments, guiding operational strategies and investments (e.g. the proposed Gornerli dam and dam heightening projects), as well as implementing AI and advanced machine-learning-based forecasting tools.

Policies related to water and marine resources

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Specific Group-wide policies on water and marine resources are not yet in place for all locations and assets. However, Italy has an integrated health, safety, and environmental policy in place. Spain and Hungary also have health and safety policies as well as separate environmental policies in place and the hydropower business unit integrates an ISO 14001 environmental management system. These environmental policies provide high-level guidance on the management of water and marine resources.

Actions, resources and targets related to water and marine resources

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Several actions related to water and marine resources have already been implemented at Alpiq’s plants.

Hydropower plants capture water from glaciers, snow melt, rain and rivers to convert into energy. The water is extracted upstream of the facility, turbined and then returned downstream. In this process, the water is returned entirely to nature, without effects on water quality. Water used for hydroelectric generation is therefore not considered to be consumed.

Water management plays a critical role in the environmental performance of gas-fired power plants. As high-efficiency thermal facilities, CCGTs interact intensively with natural water bodies for cooling, steam generation, and auxiliary processes. Because of this, they operate under strict environmental regulations at both the European and national levels, ensuring that water withdrawals, thermal discharges, and effluent quality remain within carefully defined limits. Compliance with these regulations requires continuous monitoring, transparent reporting, and close cooperation with authorities to implement site-specific measures that safeguard aquatic ecosystems. Our water-management strategy reflects our dedication to minimizing impacts while enhancing efficiency, resilience, and long-term sustainability. Cooling water discharges from all Alpiq gas power plants are monitored by measuring temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and density to assess potential impacts. Analysis results indicate that no disturbances to water or marine environments attributable to gas power plant operations have been detected.

At Csepel 2 on the Danube, river water is used for cooling and industrial purposes, treated through multi-stage systems, and returned after heat exchange. Effluent temperature and pH are continuously monitored, supported by monthly laboratory analyses and quarterly summary tests. Every three years, detailed biological studies upstream and downstream confirm that operations do not affect the Danube’s water quality or biodiversity. In addition, in Csepel, groundwater is monitored by an accredited external company, and the results are transmitted to Alpiq for storage and review.

At the Plana del Vent gas power plant, which is located close to a highly sensitive marine environment, an extensive environmental monitoring and exploitation control programme is in place. The cooling water discharge area of the plant is regularly monitored for temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, density, inorganic nutrients, suspended matter, chlorophyll a, and microbiological indicators. According to the latest results, no material deviations attributable to plant operations were detected in the previous monitored period.

Across the fleet, we reduce water use through advanced technologies. At San Severo, an air-cooled condenser and Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system allow full reuse of process effluents, eliminating liquid discharges and significantly reducing freshwater withdrawals.

In Novara, our power plant supports industrial symbiosis by supplying steam to a neighboring chemical facility. This efficient integration reduces the need for separate steam production, lowering primary energy consumption and associated CO₂ emissions while maximizing the use of thermal energy that would otherwise be lost.

Water withdrawal, discharge and consumption

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As of 2025, Alpiq publishes data on water consumption for the assets and offices where data is available. For now, the data on gas power plants, selected renewable assets and offices is published below. In the coming years, Alpiq will work to improve data availability for the remainder of its assets and offices.

Water consumption is calculated as the difference between withdrawals and discharge. It includes water that has evaporated or is incorporated in products or used in industrial processes (e.g. water splitting for hydrogen generation) and not released back to surface water, groundwater, seawater or a third party such as municipal wastewater treatment plants.

The gas-fired power plants listed below exhibit the highest levels of water withdrawal, discharge, and consumption. The CCGT at Csepel has particularly high water withdrawals because it uses a direct (once-through) cooling system. This means the plant continuously withdraws cooling water from a natural source—the Danube River—rather than recirculating water in a closed loop.