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The concept of using water sources to generate power has existed in society for thousands of years. Some of the earliest applications of hydropower include grinding flour and sawing wood. A great number of the first power plants that came along during the second industrial revolution were powered by water turbines.
The earliest industrial application of hydropower in the U.S. was in 1880. Wolverine Chair Factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan used hydropower to generate electricity in order to power their facility. Shortly after in 1882, the first commercial hydroelectric power plant opened on the Fox River in Wisconsin. This was the first-time hydroelectric power was generated in order to be sold.
In the graph below, U.S. electricity generation from renewable energy sources, 1950-2020, we can see that the use of hydroelectric power generation has flattened since the 1970s.
In recent years it seems society has begun to lean toward the more high-tech forms of renewable energy like wind and solar, and hydropower is being left behind. Yet, hydropower remains the largest source of U.S. renewable energy, but why is it no longer growing? And why is a resurgence crucial for both society and for our economy?
In 2020, 7.3 percent of total U.S.-generated electricity came from hydropower plants. Hydropower plants are also responsible for 37 percent of U.S.-generated renewable energy. Given these numbers, it may not seem like hydropower is in decline but with climate change and global warming, hydropower’s capacity is weakening. Due to climate change and droughts depleting natural water sources, hydropower plants that depend on these water sources are not able to expand production. Take the Kariba Dam between Zambia and Zimbabwe, for example, the Kariba Dam is located on the Zambezi River and provides electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe.
With droughts draining the river to a third of what it used to be, the dam is now lacking the main element it needs to be useful. This has caused millions of people who depend on hydroelectricity to be without power. If climate change continues to worsen due to our dependence on fossil fuels, then resources of renewable energy will become obsolete. Another factor causing hydropower to decline is the building of new dams rather than improving the performance of current dams.
There is a limited number of potential hydropower dam sites and the majority of the viable sites are already being utilized. However, instead of upgrading these sites to a higher level of performance, the industry would rather build entirely new dams. Building new dams instead of upgrading existing ones not only is less cost effective, but it could also negatively affect the environment. If developers choose a new dam site in an area unaffected by human activity the consequences of building the dam could potentially outweigh the benefits. On the one hand, society would benefit from the clean power generated by the dam, but the actual building of the dam could have a drastic impact on the environment—whether it is affecting the underwater ecosystems or the clearing of trees to build the dam. Hydropower is at a critical juncture currently due to the increasing effects of climate change and the deteriorating water infrastructure in the U.S.
Funding for all water infrastructure in the U.S. has been deteriorating over recent years. According to the latest reports from Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assigned the grade of C- for the nation’s energy infrastructure and a D for dam infrastructure, two critical components of hydropower systems and their economics. While only 3 percent of dams are responsible for a large portion of the nation’s hydroelectricity, that 3 percent is still a relatively large amount of energy that could be utilized instead of natural gas. With the decrease in energy and dam infrastructure, it is plausible that hydropower resources are not receiving adequate funding.
Ideally, we should be increasing the performance of hydropower infrastructure instead of watching it decline. If we focused on improved performance it would allow for dams to be maintained and updated more regularly causing cost-effective production to increase. However, if hydropower infrastructure continues to deteriorate, dams will not be able to afford the cost of updates and maintenance leading to a decrease in their output. If either their performance and/or production is decreased too much they may have to be displaced by natural gas combustion systems to produce power—which, at a large enough scale, will increase greenhouse gas emissions and cause climate change to escalate. As noted previously, this will cause a decrease in the dams’ performance which means we will essentially be digging ourselves a hole from which we may not be able to climb out.
In another recent ASCE report, The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure, the analysis estimates that continued underinvestment in water infrastructure would cause a $2.9 trillion decrease in the GDP by the year 2039. The ASCE also states that in 2019, the U.S. met only 37 percent of capital investments needed for water infrastructure. This is exactly why hydropower is at a critical juncture. If we keep letting the infrastructure deteriorate it could begin this endless cycle of hydropower plants resorting to natural gas technologies, in turn escalating climate change and making the hydropower plants even less productive.
With an increase in the upgrades of water, energy, and dam infrastructures, the performance of hydropower facilities would also increase. This, in turn, would help avoid an endless cycle that would eventually make them obsolete. In The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure, the ASCE further notes that “the US GDP would grow by $4.5 trillion” if the U.S. is able to meet 100 percent of the water infrastructure financial needs. Should the U.S. close the $2.2 trillion gap in water infrastructure spending over the next 20 years, it would lead to an increase in water system productivity that will boost the economy as well as the energy sector. If the U.S. is able to increase our hydropower infrastructure, we would essentially be pulling two weeds with one yank. The first weed being the increase in hydropower plant productivity which would allow for society to be provided with reliable energy in a cost effective manner. The second weed being climate change and how increasing the productivity of hydropower plants would create less of a dependence on non–renewable energy sources—in turn, combatting climate change.
Fortunately, there are communities that are currently investing in hydropower infrastructures, such as Hillsboro, Oregon and their In-Pipe Hydroelectric Program. This Program transforms excess pressure from a pipeline into electricity. They are essentially using excess energy in the water pressure and are converting it into electricity without relying on the use of carbon. While investing in hydropower infrastructure is still happening, as stated previously we are only meeting 37 percent of the total financial needs. If that number is able to increase significantly or even reach 100 percent not only would society be enhanced but it would also help combat climate change. The benefits of a resurgence in hydropower would have such a positive impact on society. This is why, although important to invest in the more high-tech forms of renewable energy, society cannot forget its roots and must maintain a solid foundation in hydropower.
There is neither a law of physics nor economics that prevents us from quadrupling the productive use of energy and other resources. Rather, it is much more an issue of imagination and our political will to get it done.
– John A. “Skip” Laitner