Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 1 related project in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 1 related plant in PECWeb
Released April 19, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Like many renewable energy sources, hydropower relies on the weather for its source. In this case, it's rain. Due to dry conditions across much of the nation last year, hydropower levels dropped to their lowest levels since 2001. California's torrential rains led to that state being the notable exception.
In 2023, hydropower supplied more than 238 million megawatt hours (MWh), says a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Hydropower's peak was in 2011 when it generated more than 317 million MWh. Since then, hydropower's output has mostly declined year to year except for a brief rise from 2015-2017.
Industrial Info is tracking 768 operating hydropower facilities in the U.S. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Plant Database can click here for a list of plant profiles.
The EIA said it expects 2024 to be better, with total production rising by about 6% year over year. While all regions' results are expected to rise, the biggest improvement is expected to be in the Southeast, Northwest and Rockies.
The Northwest is to hydropower what the Permian Basin of Texas is to oil and gas--43% of the nation's hydropower resources are based there. A May 2023 heat wave in that region accelerated snowmelt, leaving water supplies short for the rest of the year.
This year, said the report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC), which covers a significant part of the Northwest and Rockies region, expects "normal to more-than-normal water supply in the southern part of the region, around the Snake River Basin, and normal to less-than-normal water supply in the northern part of the region by the Upper Columbia River Basin," said the report.
Predictions are for hydropower to supply 20% of the Northwest and Rockies' electricity needs for the year. The EIA believes that hydropower, along with more output from wind and solar, will reduce natural gas use for the grid this year.
Southeast's Rising Tide
Hydropower's biggest increase, said the EIA, should come from the Southeast region, which it defines as the SERC Reliability Corporation. The Southeast Region Reliability Council and its counterparts in other regions came about after the 1965 power outage that affected 30 million users in the Northeastern U.S. and in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of SERC and the other councils is to share information with other regions in order to reduce the chances of repeating such an event.
The EIA said it expects the region's hydropower output to increase by 4 billion kilowatt hours (KWh) compared with 2023's numbers. The region, comprising Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina, accounted for about 10% of the nation's hydropower in 2023, with that source expected to supply approximately 5% of electricity generation for the region.
Unlike the outlook for the Northwest, the EIA sees demand increases in the SERC to require more power from other major sources in 2024, including natural gas and nuclear, while coal dependence should decline.
Nuclear power should rise the most, with plans in place for Georgia Power's new Vogtle Unit 4 to be fully operational by the second quarter. After years of delays, the unit is currently in the testing phase. Unit 4 is the second new nuclear facility in the state in recent times, with Unit 3, the first new nuclear generation plant in the U.S. in 30 years, having gone live on July 31, 2023. Subscribers to the GMI database can click here for the Vogtle units 3 and 4 project report and click here for the plant profile.
California Streamin'
"When it rains, it pours" is the adage, and 2023 was a "pouring" year for California's rainfall counts. Deluges that brought flooding in some parts of the state did have their upside, with that runoff boosting hydropower by 80% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Kilowatt hours rode the tide, rising from 2022's 17 billion to 2023's 31 billion, and the EIA expects 2024 to repeat the latter figure. That's because the California-Nevada River Forecast Center is forecasting near-to-above-normal rainfall--and California's water reservoirs are already mostly at above-average levels for this time of year. Also, late-January to March snowstorms boosted snowpack levels across the state's Sierra Nevada range, which bodes well for the snowmelt supply's input as the weather warms up.
Non-hydro renewables are also on the rise, with those resources expecting to expand their contribution by 5 billion kWh in 2024.
The Rest of the U.S.
The best of the rest of the U.S. lies in New York, accounting for about 6% of the nation's hydropower. The EIA's expectations are for that state to increase slightly, to 29 billion kWh.
In the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) region, which includes much of the Midwest just east of the Rockies, the agency expects hydropower generation to rise to 14 billion kWh from 2023's 11 billion kWh, the latter of which was a 10-year low.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
In 2023, hydropower supplied more than 238 million megawatt hours (MWh), says a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Hydropower's peak was in 2011 when it generated more than 317 million MWh. Since then, hydropower's output has mostly declined year to year except for a brief rise from 2015-2017.
Industrial Info is tracking 768 operating hydropower facilities in the U.S. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Plant Database can click here for a list of plant profiles.
The EIA said it expects 2024 to be better, with total production rising by about 6% year over year. While all regions' results are expected to rise, the biggest improvement is expected to be in the Southeast, Northwest and Rockies.
The Northwest is to hydropower what the Permian Basin of Texas is to oil and gas--43% of the nation's hydropower resources are based there. A May 2023 heat wave in that region accelerated snowmelt, leaving water supplies short for the rest of the year.
This year, said the report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC), which covers a significant part of the Northwest and Rockies region, expects "normal to more-than-normal water supply in the southern part of the region, around the Snake River Basin, and normal to less-than-normal water supply in the northern part of the region by the Upper Columbia River Basin," said the report.
Predictions are for hydropower to supply 20% of the Northwest and Rockies' electricity needs for the year. The EIA believes that hydropower, along with more output from wind and solar, will reduce natural gas use for the grid this year.
Southeast's Rising Tide
Hydropower's biggest increase, said the EIA, should come from the Southeast region, which it defines as the SERC Reliability Corporation. The Southeast Region Reliability Council and its counterparts in other regions came about after the 1965 power outage that affected 30 million users in the Northeastern U.S. and in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of SERC and the other councils is to share information with other regions in order to reduce the chances of repeating such an event.
The EIA said it expects the region's hydropower output to increase by 4 billion kilowatt hours (KWh) compared with 2023's numbers. The region, comprising Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina, accounted for about 10% of the nation's hydropower in 2023, with that source expected to supply approximately 5% of electricity generation for the region.
Unlike the outlook for the Northwest, the EIA sees demand increases in the SERC to require more power from other major sources in 2024, including natural gas and nuclear, while coal dependence should decline.
Nuclear power should rise the most, with plans in place for Georgia Power's new Vogtle Unit 4 to be fully operational by the second quarter. After years of delays, the unit is currently in the testing phase. Unit 4 is the second new nuclear facility in the state in recent times, with Unit 3, the first new nuclear generation plant in the U.S. in 30 years, having gone live on July 31, 2023. Subscribers to the GMI database can click here for the Vogtle units 3 and 4 project report and click here for the plant profile.
California Streamin'
"When it rains, it pours" is the adage, and 2023 was a "pouring" year for California's rainfall counts. Deluges that brought flooding in some parts of the state did have their upside, with that runoff boosting hydropower by 80% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Kilowatt hours rode the tide, rising from 2022's 17 billion to 2023's 31 billion, and the EIA expects 2024 to repeat the latter figure. That's because the California-Nevada River Forecast Center is forecasting near-to-above-normal rainfall--and California's water reservoirs are already mostly at above-average levels for this time of year. Also, late-January to March snowstorms boosted snowpack levels across the state's Sierra Nevada range, which bodes well for the snowmelt supply's input as the weather warms up.
Non-hydro renewables are also on the rise, with those resources expecting to expand their contribution by 5 billion kWh in 2024.
The Rest of the U.S.
The best of the rest of the U.S. lies in New York, accounting for about 6% of the nation's hydropower. The EIA's expectations are for that state to increase slightly, to 29 billion kWh.
In the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) region, which includes much of the Midwest just east of the Rockies, the agency expects hydropower generation to rise to 14 billion kWh from 2023's 11 billion kWh, the latter of which was a 10-year low.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
