Hydropower generation refers to the process of using the energy from moving water, like rivers or waterfalls, to create electricity.
Full definition
The figure below (Figure 6 from the new study) shows the monthly anomalies in state
hydropower generation in wet and dry years, and the severe cuts over the past three years.
High levels
of hydropower generation in the Pacific Northwest led the electric system operator, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), to curtail wind generation during some recent periods of low electricity demand.
As of 2013, thermal sources represented 75 percent of Mexico's installed capacity, followed
by hydropower generation, which accounted for 19 percent of total capacity, while other renewable sources, such as wind, solar and geothermal energy represented less than 6 percent of electricity generation in Mexico.
(1) increased demand for heating fuels and electricity due to cooler winter and warmer summer conditions in 2007 than in 2006; (2) increased consumption of fossil fuels to generate electricity; and (3) a significant decrease (14.2 percent) in
hydropower generation used to meet this demand.
BPA curtails
hydropower generation as far as it can, but is constrained by regulations limiting how much water can be spilled over the dams.
Exelon, headquartered in Chicago, is a $ 31 billion energy services and wholesale power firm with one of the nation's largest nuclear fleets, as well as extensive holdings in natural gas, wind and
hydropower generation assets.
The chart below shows how this inverse relationship can work: when monthly
hydropower generation dips under 10 - year average levels, monthly natural gas generation often rises above its 10 - year average in response.
Renewable energy resources can also be affected adversely by climate change (such as solar systems impacted by changes in cloud cover;
hydropower generation influenced by changes in river discharge, glaciers and snow melt; windpower influenced by changing wind velocity; and energy crop yields reduced by drought and higher temperatures).
The bulk of LADWP's 4,000 MW to 6,000 MW load is met by out - of - basin nuclear, coal and
hydropower generation delivered through four transmission lines.
Hydropower generation resources are clustered unevenly around the country, with over half of U.S. hydro capacity concentrated in three States: Washington, Oregon, and California.
While hydropower once again exceeded nonhydro renewable generation in May 2014 (the latest available data), EIA projects that 2014 will be the first year in which annual nonhydro renewable generation surpasses
annual hydropower generation.
Hydropower capacity has increased by slightly more than 1 % over the past decade, although
actual hydropower generation can vary noticeably by season depending on water supply conditions.
Much of the world's recent growth came from China,
where hydropower generation more than tripled from 220 billion kilowatt - hours in 2000 to 720 billion in 2010.
Some negative impacts of these changes were glacier retreat, increases in flood frequency, increases in morbidity and mortality, increases in forest fires, loss of biodiversity, increases in plant diseases, reduction in dairy cattle production and problems
with hydropower generation.
Over the past two decades, hydropower contributed an average of 17 percent of California's total in - state power generation; in 2014 and 2015,
hydropower generation represented just under 8 percent.
This issue is critical in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, where water availability has already been compromised either for consumption or for hydropower generation [13.2.4.1].
Notably, above - average rain and snowfall this winter in California has supported high levels
of hydropower generation that may also be contributing to recent pricing patterns.
The change in streamflow of the region's mighty rivers, which could get more dramatic with climate change, can pose big problems
for hydropower generation, electricity pricing and fisheries.
Reduced nuclear generation due to outages and
reduced hydropower generation both served to moderate declining electricity prices in much of the country.
This, in turn, could impact the availability of water and thus prove detrimental to agriculture and
hydropower generation in the region.
On September 11, 2012, the Brazilian government announced that it would end the practice of automatically extending 20 - year,
hydropower generation and transmission concessions expiring between 2015 and 2017 and would renew those concessions earlier than -LSB-...]
«This state - funded study in cooperation with NOAA will help us understand how small particles in the air affect precipitation and
hydropower generation.
Early this year, the California Energy Commission estimated that the state's major utilities together would face a 63 percent shortfall in
hydropower generation this year, according to a commission Hydropower Working Group briefing on the matter.
Started in 1982 - 83, the multipurpose project was planned for irrigation,
hydropower generation and water supply2harnessing the water resources of river Subarnarekha for irrigation, flood control and municipal and industrial use (Government of Bihar, 1988).
Started in 1982 - 83, the multipurpose project was planned for irrigation,
hydropower generation and water supply
California's drought, which began in 2011, has resulted in a significant decline in
hydropower generation.
On subseasonal timescales, probabilistic predictions of wind, solar and
hydropower generation can help stabilize energy costs and supply by improving scheduling and trading, maintenance scheduling, reducing curtailments and imbalance penalties, improving decisions about reserve energy sources, maximizing grid integration, and planning capacity commitments.
Between 2003 and 2013, the number of states for which nonhydro renewable generation exceeded
hydropower generation, shaded green on the maps, nearly doubled — increasing from 17 to 33 over this period.
Even modest changes in winter temperatures reduce opportunities for
hydropower generation.
Solar power generation in 249 locations, wind power generation in 2 locations,
hydropower generation in 3 locations, and biomass power generation in 6 locations will be implemented.
«In their work, the group analyzed the physcial and economic impacts to water deliveries,
hydropower generation, recreation, and downstream ecosystems as Lake Mead water levesl decline.
For example, it was noted in the late 1990s that a reduction in average runoff in the Colorado River basin of 20 % could lead to a drop in reservoir storage and
hydropower generation by as much as 60 %; similarly, the risks of large flood events in the basin increased in a highly non-linear fashion with modest increases in runoff (Gleick and Chalecki 1999).
This has implications for the reliability of future climate projections and impact assessments, including water availability for
hydropower generation, the length of the malaria transmission season, and future crop yields.
In fact, non-fossil energy's share declined to 8.0 % due to a reduction in
hydropower generation.
That was due entirely to changes in the power sector, the result of falling electricity demand and growth in wind, solar and
hydropower generation.
For instance, in 2009 the Southeastern states had record - high reservoir levels and high levels of
hydropower generation, while the Pacific Northwest received below - normal precipitation and, as a result, lower levels of hydropower generation.
Annual year - to - year variance in
hydropower generation affects the overall contribution of renewable energy to the U.S. generation mix.