Status, trends and significance of American hydropower in the changing energy landscape

Shailesh Sharma, John Waldman, Shahab Afshari and Balazs Fekete

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2019, vol. 101, issue C, 112-122

Abstract: Despite the considerable contribution of hydropower in driving the American economy for over a century, the rationale for hydropower in the U.S. energy mix needs to be reassessed in the context of advanced science and technology. Other alternative-yet-cheaper energy resources have been identified and hazards associated with aging hydro-dams have escalated in recent years. Furthermore, research has shown more negative environmental consequences associated with hydro-dams—and dams in general. To compare the contribution of hydro-electricity to the total energy production in the U.S., and to identify its regional distribution and contemporary patterns, we conducted a systematic analysis of large-scale multi-year data from U.S. federal agencies and tallied the nameplate capacities of major hydro-dams against their existing energy production values. We found that despite continuous efforts at upgrading hydro-facilities, since 2000 the mean contribution of hydroelectricity has remained less than 10% of the total generated energy in the U.S. and has been declining since then. Based on our results, we conclude that reservoir- and dam-based hydroelectricity may not be an efficient energy resource—at least from the American perspective, and perhaps it is timely to consider promoting other non-conventional renewable resources for energy production.

Keywords: American rivers; River restoration; Solar energy; Dam removal; Conterminous U.S (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2018.10.028

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