

These include continued technology development that lowers costs and the availability of market mechanisms that take into account the value of the grid reliability services, air quality and reduced emissions that hydropower provides. KEY FINDINGS OF THE HYDROPOWER VISION REPORTĪlthough hydropower is the nation’s oldest form of renewable electricity, many actions and efforts remain critical to further advancement of domestic hydropower as a key energy source of the future. hydropower could grow from 101 gigawatts (GW) of combined generating and storage capacity in 2015 to nearly 150 GW by 2050, with more than 50 percent of this growth by 2030. The Hydropower Vision report defines the societal, environmental and economic benefits of hydropower in a scenario where U.S. These experts conducted a first-of-its-kind comprehensive analysis to evaluate future pathways for hydropower in the United States from the present through 20.

So what does the future of hydropower look like? To answer that question, over the past two years the Energy Department has collaborated with more than 300 experts from more than 150 hydropower industry companies, environmental organizations, state and federal governmental agencies, academic institutions, electric power system operators, research institutions and other stakeholders to explore how it could evolve in the coming decades. Additionally, pumped-storage hydropower represents 97 percent of all energy storage in the United States, offering the flexibility and reliability the electricity grid needs to deliver affordable clean energy to American homes and businesses. Providing about 7 percent of the nation’s electricity, hydropower supports more than 143,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing, construction and utility operations and maintenance - all while improving the environment and strengthening our economy.

What could its role look like in the year 2050? Hydropower has been around for more than a century, and is currently the nation's largest source of clean, domestic, renewable electricity.
