Transcript Slide 1

Facts ‫ ׀‬Benefits ‫ ׀‬Growth
Political Landscape ‫ ׀‬Priorities
Hydro Myths
“Hydropower
development and
river stewardship
are not
compatible.”
“The country’s
hydro resources
are tapped out.”
“Hydro is not
cost-effective.”
“Hydropower is
only available in a
few places, like the
Northwest.”
“U.S. hydro plants are
all huge.”
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3
Availability
U.S. Renewable Power Generation, 2009
0.2%
3.7%
Hydropower
accounted for 65.9 %
of all renewable
power generated in
the U.S. last year.
Conventional
Hydro
17.1%
Biomass
Geothermal
13.1%
65.9%
Solar
Hydropower is the largest
source of renewable
electricity generation in
the U.S. and made up 7%
of overall power
generation in 2009.
Wind
Source: EIA
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Availability
Hydropower is generated
in every region and
benefits every state.
Top-ten hydropower
generating states:
•Washington
•Oregon
•New York
•California
•Alabama
•Idaho
•Tennessee
•Montana
•Arizona
•North Carolina
The industry employs up to 300,000
workers around the U.S., from project
development to manufacturing to
facilities operations and maintenance.
Size (Capacity) Distribution of Currently
Operating Units
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80,000 Dams Across the U.S.
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Existing & Potential Hydropower
th
thCentury
LatePost-War
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Early
Depression
WWII
Hydropower
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Century
20th
Hydropower
Century
Hydropower
Development
Hydropower
Hydropower
Hydropower
Construction
Development
Development
since
1990
The
U.Hydropower
S.Era
Hydropower
Fleet
Build Time
pre 1900
1900 - 1929
1930 - 1939
1940 - 1949
1950 - 1969
1970 - 1989
1990 - 2008
New Capacity ‫ ׀‬Job Creation
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Growth . . . Without New Dams
Using new technologies and maximizing
existing infrastructure, we can significantly
expand hydropower capacity without building
new dams.
Modernizing existing facilities
Converting Non-Powered Dams
Only 3% of the
country’s
approximately
80,000 dams are
currently generating
electricity.
Marine and Hydrokinetic
Technologies
Conduit Technology
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Future availability
Hydro Capacity Growth by Technology
With the right
policies in place, the
U.S. could add
60,000 MW of new
hydro capacity by
2025, the vast
majority of which can
be created without
adding new dams.
Efficiency
improvement Non-powered
dams
8,900MW
10,000MW
Tidal
4,000MW
Wave
9,000MW
Greenfield
sites
1,000 MW
Hydrokinetics
2,000MW
Ocean current
750MW
Pumped
storage
24,000MW
Source: Navigant
Consulting
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DOE/ORNL: Major Growth Opportunity
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1.4 Million Potential Jobs by 2025
Cumulative Job Creation by 2025 under a 25% RES
29,490 8,339
Direct Jobs
West
20,120 4,119
Indirect Jobs
20,423
West
Northeast
49,450
Northeast
Southeast
Southeast
Midwest
76,161
285,311
Southwest
82,994
135,386
Midwest
Southwest
Job Creation Opportunities in Hydropower, Navigant Consulting, 2009
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Affordable ‫ ׀‬Reliable ‫ ׀‬Sustainable
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Affordable
LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY FOR VARIOUS POWER
AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY OPTIONS, ¢/KWH
Hydropower has
the lowest levelized
cost of electricity of
any energy source –
even energy
efficiency
Source: Navigant/ACORE
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Clean and Sustainable
The hydropower industry
is committed to better
understanding and
mitigating the impacts
dams can have on local
ecosystems and fish, with
hundreds of millions of
dollars invested each year
in environmental
enhancements at hydro
facilities.
Using hydropower avoided
approximately 196 million
metric tons of U.S. carbon
pollution in 2009 – equal to
emissions from approximately 38
million cars.
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Non-Powered Dam Potential With Other
Renewables
Non-powered dam potential exists in areas with
less than ideal wind and solar resources
Source,Wind & Solar Maps: NREL
Grid Reliability
Hydropower is a flexible and
reliable electricity source.
Hydropower’s ability to dispatch
power immediately makes it an
essential back-up during major
electricity disruptions.
“[During the blackout,] one relatively large
island remained in operation serving about
5,700 MW of demand, mostly in western
New York, anchored by the Niagara and
St. Lawrence hydro plants.”
— US-Canada Power System Outage Task
Force report, 2005
Grid support services include . . .
Frequency Control ‫ ׀‬Regulation ‫ ׀‬Load Following
‫ ׀‬Spinning Reserve ‫ ׀‬Supplemental Reserve
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Energy Storage: Affordable & At Scale
Hydropower pumped storage is one
of the few large-scale, affordable
means of storing and deploying
electricity.
Absorbs excess generation at
times of low demand, and releases it
during peak demand periods.
The U.S. has more than
20GW of pumped
storage capacity today,
with facilities in every
region of the country.
Developers have
proposed an additional
31GW.
An excellent partner for
intermittent renewable electricity
sources.
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Bipartisan ‫ ׀‬Regionally Diverse
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Bipartisan Support
• Hydropower has multi-region and bipartisan support
• Hydropower Improvement Act of 2011 – co-sponsors
include Sens. Murkowski (R-AK) and Bingaman (D-NM)
and 7 other Senators, Republicans and Democrats
• Incentives for hydropower and marine and hydrokinetic
technologies championed by both parties
• Consensus in the 111th Congress for inclusion of
hydropower in various policies
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Bipartisan Support
“With thousands of existing dams currently
not creating any power, existing dams in need
of upgrades, and new technologies being
developed to safely capture river currents, an
additional 60,000 more megawatts is
achievable within the next 15 years.” – House
“In today’s environment – where talk
centers on the need to provide clean and
environmentally friendly energy – we
must continue to promote and expand
the use of hydropower.” – House
Natural Resources Committee
Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Natural Resources Committee
Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA)
“There’s no one solution to the energy
crisis, but hydropower is clearly part of
the solution and represents a major
opportunity to create more clean
energy jobs.” – Energy Secretary
“Hydropower is one of our greatest
untapped resources for generating clean,
renewable electricity.” - Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee
Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski
(R-AK)
Steven Chu
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Projects Across the U.S.
Hydropower projects are underway around the country, bringing
new jobs and low-cost electricity to many states.
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Projects Waiting in Line
 Applications/Exemptions Filed: 37 projects, 3000+ MW, 23 states
 Preliminary Permits Issued: 394 projects, 48,000+ MW, 47 states
 Preliminary Permits Pending: 355 projects, 37,000+ MW, 29 states
Total FERC Pipeline:
88,000+ MW
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Regulatory ‫ ׀‬Tax
Energy Standard ‫ ׀‬R&D
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Overview
What it will take:
A more efficient regulatory process
NHA supports a CES goal of
generating 80% of
America’s electricity from
clean and renewable
energy – a goal achievable
only with a significant role
for hydropower.
Economic incentives to support
project development
A national clean and renewable
electricity standard
Research and development
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Regulatory Process
FERC
Federal
Regulators
Public
Hydro
NGOs
Regulatory
Process
Local
Governments
Hydropower development
involves a
comprehensive but
sometimes redundant
regulatory approval
process that needs better
coordination and
cooperation between
participants.
Tribes
State
Agencies
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Regulatory Process
Making the regulatory process more efficient includes:
Facilitating private hydropower development on
Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of
Reclamation Facilities
An expedited licensing process for hydropower
development at non-powered dams and closed loop
pumped storage projects, that takes no more than two
years.
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Regulatory Process
Support for small hydro and conduit power
developers, so that the regulatory process provides
assistance and is not a disincentive to project
development.
Improvements can be made to the regulatory process that speed
both the deployment as well as the environmental enhancements
and benefits of hydro projects.
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Incentives
Straightforward updates to existing renewable energy tax
credit programs should be enacted:
Equalizing the production tax credit for hydropower. Currently
hydropower receives only half the credit available to other renewable
energy sources.
Allowing energy storage, specifically pumped hydro storage, to
qualify for the ITC and CREBs (Clean Renewable Energy Bonds)
Program. Expanding our nation’s energy storage capacity is essential
to ensuring a secure and stable grid as well as integrating more
renewable energy.
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Incentives
NHA strongly supports existing renewable incentives:
Long term extension of existing programs such as the PTC and
ITC is needed, along with additional funding for oversubscribed
programs such as CREBs and the 48C ITC for renewable energy
equipment manufacturers.
Hydropower project development can have high upfront
costs and long lead times. Though cost-effective over the life
of the project, utilities, developers and investors need
certainty with the incentives.
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A Clean and Renewable Electricity Standard
The Clean Energy Standard is a different policy paradigm than
the Renewable Energy Standard. As such, the treatment and
recognition of hydropower must be re-evaluated. Two examples:
Existing hydropower generation should be counted if generation
from other clean resources qualifies (wind, nuclear, etc.)
Hydropower should be treated equitably in comparison to other
existing resources.
Energy storage, specifically pumped hydro storage, will play a
critical role to firm and integrate intermittent resources and increase
their contribution to the CES goal. The CES should include a
mechanism to provide recognition of clean generation from pumped
storage projects – both existing and new.
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Research and Development
As the Congress debates budget priorities, funding
for hydropower R&D is imperative.
President Obama’s proposed FY 2012 budget increases DOE
spending for all types of renewable energy with the exception of the
Water Power program, with a proposed budget reduction of over 20%.
Congress must continue to invest, not retreat, on R&D funding for the
next generation of hydropower and MHK technologies to achieve
the country’s vision for clean energy deployment.
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Contacts
Linda Church Ciocci, Executive Director,
National Hydropower Association
[email protected]
Ph. 202.682.1700
Ryan Cunningham, Vice President,
Glover Park Group
[email protected]
ph. 202.295.0164
Roger Ballentine, President, Green Strategies
[email protected]
ph. 202.328.1123
www.hydro.org