Hydropower is the largest renewable energy source in the United States. It produces 10% of the nation's electricity. Hydropower is a relatively low-cost, renewable source of electricity that can be used on a large scale. Hydropower is often used to meet peak power demands thereby preventing blackouts.

Hydropower or hydroelectric power facilities in the United States can generate enough power to supply 28 million households with electricity for a year, the equivalent of nearly 500 million barrels of oil. That's a lot, but by comparison consider that America uses 20 million barrels of oil per day, the hydropower equivalent of 25 days of power. The total U.S. hydropower capacity-including pumped storage facilities-is about 95,000 megawatts. Microsoft and Yahoo are locating huge “server farms” close to abundant hydropower in the Pacific Northwest to keep up with rising Internet demands and power usage.

CARE'S POSITION

The beauty of this renewable energy source is the low production costs associated with bringing hydropower to market. Also, hydropower technology is a proven energy resource that is available in significant quantities. However, of the approximately 75,000 existing dams in this country less than 3 percent are used for hydroelectric generation. Also, in the last 10 years the Department of Energy has spent $1.2 billion on research and development for other renewable sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal, but only $10 million on hydropower. Therefore, the U.S. Government does not see hydropower as a priority and without government support there is little chance for growth.

The bureaucratic gauntlet for improving a hydroelectric power plant or for constructing a new one is daunting. It would cost billions of dollars to process license applications for hundreds of existing hydroelectric facility projects. These projects would increase power generation capabilities but it can take 8 to 10 years per project to get a new license approved. Anti-hydropower activist groups have essentially shut down any future for this energy source.

FACTS

The energy of flowing water is converted into electricity. Hydropower is currently the largest source of renewable power, generating nearly 10% of the electricity used in the United States.

HOW IT WORKS

• The most common type of hydropower plant uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which, in turn, activates a generator to produce electricity. However, dams are not necessarily needed to create hydropower. Some hydropower plants just use a small canal to channel river water through a turbine.
• Another type of hydropower plant-called a pumped storage plant-can even store power. At times when excess electricity is available, generators spin turbines backward, which causes them to pump water from a river or lower reservoir to an upper reservoir. When the water is released and flows back over the turbines, spinning them forward, electricity is re-produced. This system of power storage is highly inefficient and impractical.

PROS

• Because it's fueled by water, hydro-power is a clean, renewable energy source
• Hydropower is domestically produced, which is always a plus
• It is generally available on demand and can respond quickly to produce power in times of peak demands thereby preventing power outages.
• Hydropower plants provide additional purposes such as critical water supplies and flood control. Other benefits from manmade reservoirs include recreational opportunities such sa fishing, swimming, and boating.

CONS

• Fish populations can be impacted if fish cannot migrate upstream past impoundment dams to spawning grounds or if they cannot migrate downstream to the ocean. Upstream fish passage can be aided using fish ladders or elevators, or by trapping and hauling the fish upstream by truck. Downstream fish passage is aided by diverting fish from turbine intakes using screens or racks or even underwater lights and sounds, and by maintaining a minimum spill flow past the turbine. However, both of these measures are costly and require their own energy use
• Hydropower can impact water quality and downstream flows. Plants can cause low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, a problem that is harmful to riparian (riverbank) habitats and is addressed using various aeration techniques, which oxygenate the water. Maintaining minimum flows of water downstream of a hydropower installation is important for downstream habitat
• Hydropower plants can be impacted by drought. When water is not available, the hydropower plants can't produce electricity.
• New hydropower facilities impact the local environment and may compete with other uses for the land

THE FUTURE

The Department of Energy Hydropower Program's mission is to conduct research and development that will seek to increase the technical, societal, and environmental benefits of hydropower. The DOE's Hydropower Program is focused on finding cost-competitive technologies that enable development of new and incremental hydropower capacity, adding diversity to the nation's energy supply. However well intentioned, this program is not nearly enough to advance hydropower in the nation's overall energy portfolio. In its energy projections through 2020, the Energy Information Administration has forecasted decreased hydroelectric capacity as "regulatory actions limit capacity at existing projects."