In a recent White House-sponsored Clean Energy Forum in Pennsylvania, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu made his strongest statements in support of hydropower yet, stating his belief that the U.S. hydropower industry could add 70,000 MW of capacity, by using more efficient turbines at existing facilities and constructing new pumped storage and run-of-the-river hydropower facilities. According to Chu, “We [the Department of Energy] will be pushing this. We’re not talking about a lot of large, new reservoirs. Just work with what we have and it’s a massive amount of power.”
Last week’s comments are Chu’s latest but by no means first statements in support of hydropower, and the Department of Energy (DOE) has backed his words with action. In April, DOE announced $40 million in funding availability for research into advanced water power generation, and in June, announced the availability of another $32 million in grants to modernize existing hydropower infrastructure. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also included support in the form of tax credits for new incremental hydropower, hydro at non-powered dams, and ocean, tidal, and instream-hydrokinetic technologies.
Secretary Chu’s comments highlight the dramatic advancements in hydropower technologies that can increase the energy output of existing facilities, and enable generation in unconventional water flows, such as advanced hydro turbine designs and the development of microturbines. The Secretary has also recognized the importance of hydropower for other renewable resources: the use of hydropower facilities for balancing or energy storage will “help to increase the utilization and economic viability of intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.”
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