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AMERICAN PUBLIC D� vir• MIN ASSOCIATION Powering Strong Communities ISSUE BRIEF January 2017 Hydropower Summary Given these characteristics,hydropower plays a significant part in ensuring reliable,zero emissions electric service at low-cost. Hydropower accounts for a significant portion of the nation's electricity supply,and is the most abundant source of renewable Despite the beneficial use of hydropower,most dams were energy.Because the fuel(water)that turns the turbines to make built decades ago for purposes other than power generation, electricity in a hydroelectric plant is essentially free,the cost of such as for flood control,crop irrigation,or storage of municipal operating a hydropower facility is relatively low compared to water supplies—only three percent of the country's approx- imately sources.There is a huge opportunity to develop addi imately 80,000 dams currently have facilities that generate electricity. Given this situation,there is substantial potential tional hydropower resources throughout the nation,much of that at existing dams.There is also a wide and growing array of for adding renewable electric generation to non-powered dams hydropower technologies and projects that have the potential to by installing electricity generation equipment at those sites. further increase this reliable,low-cost,non-emitting domestic Analysts at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that source of energy. 12,600 megawatts(MW) of new,emissions-free hydropower At the same time,there are a number of regulatory,financial, can be generated at non-powered dams throughout the country. and other barriers impeding the commercial development of this Also,there is potential to dramatically increase the hydropower output in existing municipal,industrial,and agricultural water hydropower potential. In the previous two Congresses,Congress started to focus its attention on removing these barriers through distribution conduits/canals in the U.S.This untapped poten- the passage of legislation addressing small hydropower and by tial could significantly increase the more than 98,000 MW of introduction of new legislation addressing existing hydropower, hydropower capacity already operating in the U.S.The modern- It also held hearings to examine these issues.The American Pub- lie of existing hydroelectric generation equipment to increase lie Power Association(Association or APPA)supports legislative its capacity is also one of the most near-term,cost-effective, and regulatory efforts to remove or reduce these barriers and and environmentally friendly means of developing additional facilitate the development of additional hydropower resources. hydropower. Other forms of hydropower can also be developed or further developed in the U.S.as well,including pumped storage(cur- Background rently the only significant,economically viable way to"store" Hydropower is the nation's largest source of emissions free, electricity),hydrokinetic turbines,tidal,and wave technologies. renewable electricity,accounting for 45.3 percent of domes- tic renewable generation and 6.0 percent of total electricity generation according to the most recent Energy Information Licensing and Regulatory Reform Administration data from 2015.It is a reliable source of energy, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC)is the being available most of the time,unlike some other renewable primary federal agency responsible for the licensing of non-fed- resources.Furthermore,hydroelectric generators can be started eral hydroelectric projects.Under the Federal Power Act,FERC is authorized to issue licenses for construction,operation,and or stopped quickly,which makes them more responsive than most other energy sources for meeting demand for electricity at maintenance of hydropower projects.FERC also issues licenses its"peak"or highest volume.These units also often have"black for the continuance of existing projects(relicensing),overseeing start"capability that makes them especially valuable in restoring related environmental matters,and"oversight of all ongoing power when there are widespread outages or disruptions on project operations,including dam safety inspections and envi- the system—this capability allows the generating units to cycle ronmental monitoring." back on quickly if they have been tripped off in a power outage. PubUcPower.org 25 207