HYDROPOWER TRENDS
Joan Harn, National Park Service
Thomas O’Keefe, American Whitewater
Susan Rosebrough, National Park Service
John Seebach, American Rivers
Rupak Thapaliya, American Rivers/Hydropower Reform Coalition
RMS/SORP, Boise, Idaho
May 2016
http://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/existing-hydropower-assets
Learning Objectives
● Identify information resources about hydropower development potential;
● Identify policy initiatives affecting hydropower development; and
● Identify tools and information to effectively participate in relicensing and new
hydropower development.
Topics/Format
• DOE Hydropower Resource Assessments and Vision
• Case Studies
• What is Sustainable Hydropower?
• DOE Hydropower Vision/Roadmap
• Legislative Proposals
• Call to Action
• Resources to Get Involved
• Take Home Messages
● Is it possible to develop new sustainable hydropower?
● Is it possible for hydropower involving new dam construction to be
sustainable? (vs. hydropower involving existing water infrastructure)
● If so, what does sustainable new hydropower development look like?
Some questions to start:
DOE Hydropower Resource Assessments
Key Take Home Messages:
• There is a lot of potential for adding new hydropower on existing dams and in
free flowing streams.
• These may be places you want to protect.
• DOE’s resource assessments are driving policy recommendations. This is
the purpose behind the DOE’s Hydropower Vision.
Department of Energy Hydropower Vision
http://energy.gov/eere/water/new-vision-united-states-hydropower`
“This landmark vision will establish the analytical basis for an ambitious roadmap
to usher in a new era of growth in sustainable domestic hydropower over the next
half century. Included in this effort will be:
• A close examination of the current the state of the hydropower industry
• A discussion of the costs and benefits to the nation arising from additional
hydropower
• A roadmap addressing the challenges to achieving higher levels of
hydropower deployment within a sustainable national energy mix.”
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/12/f5/npd_report_0.pdf
DOE Hydropower Vision Non-powered Dams
http://nhaap.ornl.gov/nsd
Examples of Unrealistic “New” Hydropower Potential
● Penobscot, ME
● Klamath, OR
● Patapsco, MD
Iron Gate Dam, Klamath River, Thomas O’Keefe
Hydro Potential – Pacific Northwest
Wild Olympics
Elwha River Post Dam Removal
Wild Olympics
Chelan River
9 Listed Fish
Species
South Fork Skykomish Watershed
Site was proposed in the
past
New diversion,
hydropower project
Create a 1.1 mile bypass
diverting up to 2500 cfs
reach over two scenic
waterfalls
30 MW / 22,500 homes
Snohomish County PUD
Sunset Falls Hydroelectric Project
Existing Protections and Environmental
Concerns
Eligible/Suitable, but not
designated
Nationwide Rivers
Inventory
State Scenic River
Kaykers, near Sunset Falls
Photo Credit: Thomas O’Keefe
Sunset Falls
Photo Credit: SnoPUD
Canyon Falls,
Photo Credit: Monroe Monitor
• Draft License Application
Submitted – Winter 2016
• SnoPUD to submit the Final
License Application -
Winter 2017
• FERC to begin the
Environmental Document
Process
• Commission to Issue Final
Decision
Status
Skykomish River
Photo credit: Herald
Hydro Potential – Great Basin
Bear River-Battle Creek • Hydro Potential: 20.5 MW
2 listed fish species
Bear River Narrows
• Create a new dam,
4.5 mile long
reservoir
• Size: 10 MW; 7500
homes
• Proposed by: Twin
Lakes Canals
• Hydropower &
water storage for
irrigation
Source: FERC EA, Twin Lakes Canals
Existing Protections & Environmental Concerns
Eligible/Suitable but
Not designated Onieda Canyon, Photo Credit: Kevin Lewis
Cutthroat Trout, Photo Credit: Idaho Fish & Game
Status
•EIS submitted, FERC staff recommends license denial
•Awaiting final order from the Commission
Sustainable Hydropower
• What does “sustainable hydropower” mean, anyway?
• Is new “sustainable” hydropower possible?
• Where are the good places to develop new hydropower
and meet environmental and social objectives?
Maintains and increases low-carbon hydropower generation while concurrently: 1) providing environmental and social
benefits at the basin- and national- scales through integrated planning and management and
1) avoiding impacts at the local scale
through best practices in siting, design, operation and technology.
40
Sustainability Approach
…planned (sited and designed), constructed, operated and decommissioned in a way that meets or exceeds social, environmental and economic principles:
Social
● Public health and safety
● Transparent and participatory decision processes
● Tribal treaty rights and cultural heritage
● Recreation
Environmental
● Ecosystems and biodiversity
● Flow and sediment regimes
● Water Quality ● Water and GHG
footprint
Economic
● Life cycle approach ● Informed markets ● Performance of
existing infrastructure ● Coupled financial
security and flexibility
Draft ‘principle’ areas to benchmark a vision for sustainable growth
Potential Environmental Objectives Maximize the persistence of the full complement of native species, ecosystems and their services at national, basin and local scales by investing in hydropower development that:
Sensitive and high value communities
Avoids nation's remaining sensitive and high value freshwater and coastal systems
Sustains habitat for State and Federally listed and candidate species
Supports viability of migratory fish populations
Connectivity Sustains or increases functionally connected riverine habitats
Flow Regime Maintains key components of the flow regime including seasonality, baseflows, extreme flow events, and short-term variability
Sediment Supports sediment regimes that sustain habitat for riverine, wetland, floodplain and estuarine ecosystems.
Water Quality Supports water quality for beneficial uses of waterways including DO, temperature pH, sediment and nutrients
Water and GHG Minimizes emissions of GHG's and consumptive water use losses)
Potential Social Objectives
Public health and safety
Minimizes risk to downstream communities as a result of operations or modifications to existing or construction of new facilities
Governance Ensures transparent, participatory, and timely decision processes
Cultural heritage Honors indigenous tribal treaty rights Supports the cultural heritage of local, national, and international communities
Water supply Ensures the provision of adequate water supplies for local communities, and public purposes
Recreation Maintains or increases recreation opportunities and access
Maintains or increases aesthetic experience
Back to the DOE Hydropower Vision Roadmap
“a roadmap addressing the challenges to achieving
higher levels of hydropower deployment within a
sustainable national energy mix.”
DOE Hydropower Vision Roadmap Projects - draft
1. Increasing hydropower resilience to climate change.
2. Better integrating hydropower with variable renewable resources and
renewable energy markets.
3. Improved, lower-cost hydropower technologies.
4. Evaluating environmental sustainability of new hydropower.
5. Removing market / financing barriers to new hydro.
6. Improving “regulatory outcomes.”
Legislative Proposals
• Industry says legislation needed to “modernize” an outdated process:
• “Improved coordination”
• “Reduced delay”
• “Better information”
• Actual effect of legislative proposals:
• Further centralizes authority with FERC
• Undermines / weakens natural resource agency authorities and forces them to adhere to
arbitrary timelines or lose their authorities.
• More reliance on existing studies.
Call to Action
• Identify the hydropower potential in your river and
watershed.
• Identify your objectives and how you can measure them.
• Be proactive about river protection - know the potential
threats to your river and consider options for protection.
Hydropower Reform Coalition Hydro Guides
“We wrote the book on hydropower licensing…”
• Hydropower licensing
• Science
• Activist’s Preparation
• Shorelands
• Media
• Flows and Recreation
• Hydrokinetic Energy Projects & Recreation: A Guide to Assessing Impacts
Other Hydropower Resources:
• DOE Hydropower Vision - http://energy.gov/eere/water/new-vision-united-states-
hydropower
• ORNL Hydropower - http://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/nhaap-research-data
• ORNL HydroGIS Viewer - http://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/hydrogis-0
• NREL RAPID Hydropower Toolkit - http://en.openei.org/wiki/RAPID/Hydropower
• NPS Hydropower Assistance - https://www.nps.gov/hydro/
• Hydropower Reform Coalition-http://www.hydroreform.org
• American Whitewater - http://www.americanwhitewater.org
• American Rivers - http://www.americanrivers.org
Take Home Messages
• Increasing interest in expanding hydropower
• Hydropower policy today is increasingly driven by interest in expanding clean
renewable energy.
• You can influence where and how hydropower is developed and protect the
rivers you care about.
• Be vigilant - ask for help and plan ahead!