5. Conclusion

5.1 Current situation

In highly industrialized countries, hydraulic potential is generally being exhausted, as it was the first to be exploited. In France, for example, where the country's topography allows for significant resources, hydropower production accounted for 58% of total production in 1950, but only 40% in 1970, and less than 15% in 2006. Only a handful of water-rich countries, such as Canada, Norway and Brazil, continue to base most of their energy development on water. The largest remaining reserves of hydropower are located in Africa, Brazil, Canada, China, India and Russia. In countries where hydropower is combined with fossil-fired or nuclear thermal energy, base load power is reserved for thermal power plants, while more flexible hydropower plants provide peak load...