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Executive Director
Northwest Public Power Association
During an era of unprecedented change in the energy industry, hydropower offers a renewable and emission-free power source that boasts some unique attributes. Not only does hydropower provide reliable base-load generation, but it also has a high level of flexibility that enables storage and ramping capability. These qualities match well with the increasing need to balance intermittent renewable generation sources, such as wind and solar. At just seven percent of total electricity generation in the U.S., hydropower already displaces about 200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise come from thermal generation. It is efficient in its… [more]
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Director, Market Development & Business Affairs
Whooshh Innovations
Several years ago, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a report on the energy potential of the thousands of non-powered dams in the US. With a significant number of untapped sources readily available, it makes sense to consider how we can utilize more of this emissions-free resource by “unleashing hydropower”. Many companies have attempted to shepard one of the more than 80,000 non-powered dams through the hydropower licensing process at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) only to find that unanticipated obstacles can arise like the requirement for fish passage. Often, FERC imposes a condition on the issuance of a… [more]
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Publisher
Atomic Insights LLC
In 2015, Mark Z. Jacobson released a report claiming via modeling that 100% of the energy – not just the electricity – needed by the U.S. could be reliably provided at a reasonably low cost by a mixture of wind, water and solar energy. Jacobson’s paper, Low-Cost Solution to the Grid Reliability Problem with 100% Penetration of Intermittent Wind, Water, and Solar for All Purposes, was recently challenged when the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a paper titled Evaluation of A Proposal for Reliable Low-Cost Grid Power with 100% Wind, Water, and Solar. The new paper, developed… [more]
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Senior Scientist
UFA Ventures, Inc.
After the events of COP21, the National Hydropower Association’s (NHA) goal to expand hydropower in America over the next few decades seems especially important. The existing hydro fleet was constructed over the course of an entire century and constitutes the longest-lived energy facilities in the world. NHA’s goal is to double hydropower by adding 60 GW of capacity by 2030 which will produce an additional 300 billion kWhs of electricity each year, without building a single new dam. Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz agrees, stating, “Hydropower can double its contributions by the year 2030. We have to pick up the covers… [more]
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President
Clean Energy Development, LLC
Often termed the country’s “silent renewable,” hydropower is the nation’s largest renewable electricity resource, providing 7% of total generation. Hydropower’s many supporters – 81% of U.S. voters favor maintaining existing hydro, according to a recent National Hydropower Association poll – value its low-cost, reliability and ability to integrate intermittent renewable resources. Critics argue that hydropower is not environmentally-friendly and, if included in state Renewable Portfolio Standards, will reduce the growth of renewables like wind and solar power. Historically, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation built the vast majority of major federal dams with integrated hydroelectric… [more]
View InsightSenate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has introduced the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, which would require electric utilities to derive increasing percentages of their supply mix from low-CO2 sources. The bill would take effect in 2015, and would require that by 2035 84% of power from large utilities come from low-CO2 sources. Sources eligible under the legislation include: renewables, such as wind and solar, “qualified” renewable biomass and waste-to-energy, hydropower, natural gas, and nuclear. Facilities with CO2 capture and storage, and some combined heat and power facilities, are also eligible. The bill establishes a market-based… [more]
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