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Could Hydro Flood America With New Power?

This article is more than 8 years old.

There is a lot of new hydroelectric power that could be installed in America without building a single new dam, I learned at the All Energy Forum at last week’s American Nuclear Society Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Almost 90% of America’s low-carbon energy sources come from hydropower (21%) and nuclear power (67%), which together avoid almost a billion tons of CO2 emissions each year. If we are to achieve any of the low-carbon goals we have set out for 2030 and beyond, hydropower must increase significantly and nuclear has to maintain it’s share of power, and even increase slightly by 2030.

David Zayas, Senior Manager at the National Hydropower Association (NHA), says that the goal is to double hydropower over the next few decades, adding 60 GW by 2030, producing an additional 300 billion kWhs of electricity each year.

At NHA’s annual conference recently, Energy Secretary, Dr. Ernest Moniz, agreed saying, “Hydropower can double its contributions by the year 2030. We have to pick up the covers off of this hidden renewable that’s right in front of our eyes and continues to have significant potential.”

There are about 2,200 hydroelectric plants in this country totaling 80 GW, producing about 7% of our electricity. About 70% of them are less than 10 MW. Half of them are privately-owned and half are federal, but most of the capacity is in the federal dams. While the Pacific Northwest leads the nation in installed capacity, the Northeast has the highest concentration of facilities, or number of dams.

The existing fleet was constructed over the course of an
entire century and constitute the longest-lived energy facilities in the world. Many large ones will exceed 100 years of operation. Some small ones already have. But like all of our aging infrastructure, we need to maintain it and expand it. The hydro industry has invested over $6 billion in the last decade to strengthen the existing hydropower fleet.

Hydropower manufacturing has spread across 38 states, with more than 170 companies producing one or more of six major hydropower components: turbines, generators, transformers, penstocks, gates, and valves. The industry employs over 55,000 high-paying jobs.

Hydroelectric dams are the only energy facilities that provide more than just energy. They provide flood control, irrigation, navigation, water supply and recreation, and most dams provide at least two of these functions. In addition, there is over 21 GW of licensed pumped hydro storage projects in the United States that represent 97% of all energy storage in America.

And that’s why hydro can increase so much so quickly. Of the 80,000 dams nationwide, only 3% are equipped to produce power. There are many dams that provide only flood control, irrigation, water supply and/or recreation without power, and most can be upgraded to supply electricity as well (see figure).

It is ironic that the two largest providers of low-carbon electricity, hydro and nuclear, also have the most onerous regulatory hurdles that make construction lengthy and expensive. Ten years is common for merely licensing. Once built, however, both enjoy the longest of facility life-times, the lowest production costs per kWh, and produce more power than any other energy facility before they die.

Also, both hydro and nuclear are inconsistently viewed from a tax credit, low-carbon portfolio standard and regulatory perspective, making it difficult to plan for the long-term. Both are excluded from the Clean Energy Incentive Program and hydro isn’t even considered renewable in some states like Washington.

However, federal legislation passed unanimously in 2013 that does aim to lower the cost and time necessary for smaller hydro projects to obtain federal permits, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is looking at a two-year licensing process for hydro.

Recently, Congress has been working to modernize the hydropower licensing process. The U.S. House (H.R.8) and Senate (S.2012) energy committees have passed bipartisan legislation designed to make the process more efficient and collaborative by designating the FERC to act as the lead agency in coordinating with state and federal agencies. As it stands, each of these bills are heading to the floor of their respective chambers for a vote. To push for passage of these bills, NHA has launched an advocacy campaign called “Unlockhydro”.

In addition, recently Congress passed the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act that had a bipartisan amendment to modernize hydropower’s outdated licensing process.

Worldwide, hydropower and nuclear have been the most important source of low-carbon, low footprint power in history. We need to increase them even more if we are to meet our environmental goals without withholding power from those who need it most.

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