[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-05-14-Untapped-Hydroelectric-Power.mp3|titles=EW 06-05-14 Untapped Hydroelectric Power]
Hydroelectric power is still the largest renewable energy source in the US, providing about 7% of our electricity generation. In New York, where Niagara Falls has been providing power for over a century, hydropower provides 17% of the state’s electricity.
Recently, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory released a resource assessment that estimates that as much as 65 gigawatts of new hydroelectric power could be developed across the nation. This is considerably more than what already exists.
Much of the new hydroelectric potential comes from some 80,000 existing dams that don’t have generating facilities. The New Stream-Reach Development Resource Assessment (or NSD) also looks at pumped storage, small conduits, and other types of untapped hydropower potential. The assessment considers technical, socio-economic, and environmental characteristics of the potential new sites.
The NSD project does not make recommendations or provide justification for specific projects. Its purpose is to provide information that can be used by decision makers and strategic planners who are considering new hydroelectric projects. Dams have a variety of negative impacts on streams and rivers that must be evaluated.
In an era when wind and solar technologies are rapidly expanding, it is clear this senior member of the renewable energy family still has considerable potential and should not be ignored. Hydroelectric power is clean, low cost, and will be around for a long time to come.
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Photo, taken June 1, 2011, courtesy of Ralph Arvesen via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.