ORNL scientists generate new report on trends shaping the hydropower industry
Industry stakeholders, policymakers, and the interested public can access current data and critical insights into trends shaping the hydropower industry in the 2017 Hydropower Market Report—including information on how US hydropower growth compares to other countries across the globe.
“Hydropower has a promising future as it continues to grow and play a key role in the nation’s power system,” said project lead Rocio Uria-Martinez of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “This report provides a comprehensive picture of the opportunities and challenges the US hydropower industry faces.”
The national hydropower fleet represents 7% of total installed power generation capacity in the United States and produces 6.3% of the country’s electricity. More than 70% of the increase in US hydropower capacity over the last decade has resulted from refurbishments and upgrades to the existing fleet. The addition of hydropower generation equipment to existing water resources infrastructure is the dominant trend in planned new developments.
Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) plants account for 95% of utility-scale electrical energy storage for the nation and provide ancillary services such as the ability to change output based on grid needs, ensuring grid reliability.
At the end of 2017, developers were investigating 40 sites for potential new PSH facilities with six pending license applications. Despite this activity, the report shows that the pace of PSH development in the US lags behind that of East Asia and Europe.
International data is a new addition in this volume of the Hydropower Market Report. The new chapter puts US facilities and growth into a global context, adding perspective to the picture painted by the report, which details the location, size, ownership, and operational modes of the national hydropower fleet.
Another new chapter focuses on price trends, providing data on how much utilities are paying for power generated at federal and privately-owned plants. The report also includes new data on grid flexibility and services provided by hydropower across seven US markets.
Report highlights include:
- US hydropower capacity has increased by 2,030 MW from 2006 to 2016.
- Installed capacity at the end of 2016 was 79.99 GW across 2,241 separate plants.
- As of the end of 2017, there are 214 hydropower projects in the US development pipeline with a combined potential capacity of 1,712 MW.
- 43 pumped storage hydropower plants with a total rated capacity of 21.6 gigawatts account for 95 percent of utility-scale electrical energy storage.
- Pumped storage hydropower capacity increased 2,074 MW since 2006 through turbine-generator upgrades and one new facility.
- Hydropower refurbishment and upgrade projects worth $8.9 billion started in the US from 2007 to 2017.
The 2017 Hydropower Market Report is available here. The 108-page report was created by ORNL researchers Rocio Uria-Martinez, Patrick O’Connor, and Megan Johnson with contributions from Shelaine Curd, Nicole Samu, and Adam Witt and support from the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office in the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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