Global Hydropower Grows at 5% as China Plans to Add 140,000 Megawatts by 2015

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The global use of hydropower grew more than 5% year over year from 2009 to 2010, according to research organization Worldwatch (Washington D.C.).

By the end of 2010, hydropower use reached a record level of 3,427 terawatt-hours (TWh), which represented about 16.1% of global electricity consumption.

China leads the world in hydropower production and is expected to maintain this position in the future. The country produced 721 TWh in 2010, which represented about 17% of total domestic electricity use. China also had the highest installed hydropower capacity, with 213,000 MW at the end of 2010. The country plans to add 140,000 MW by 2015, which is equivalent to building seven more dams the size of the Three Gorges dam, which is the largest in the world.

More than 150 countries produce hydropower, but the power source tends to be concentrated in just a few countries and regions. The Asia-Pacific region generated about 32% of the world's hydropower in 2010, with Africa producing only 3% of the total. But Africa is considered the region with the greatest potential for increased production.

Albania, Bhutan Lesotho and Paraguay generated all their electricity from hydropower in 2008, and Iceland, New Zealand and Norway produce the most hydropower per capita.

China, Brazil, the U.S., Canada and Russia accounted for about 52% of global hydropower capacity. There are three hydropower plants with a generating capacity of more than 10,000 MW: Three Gorges in China; Itaipu in Brazil; and Guri Dam in Venezuela. A total of $40 billion to $45 billion was invested in large projects globally in 2010.

Micro-hydropower use grew in smaller communities over the last decade. Classed as a plant with an installed capacity of 100 kilowatts or less, this source represented 6% of the world's hydropower total, with 60,000 MW installed worldwide.

Worldwatch President Robert Engelman said: "While hydropower energy production helps reduce reliance on fossil fuels and avoids much of their carbon dioxide emissions, this form of generation is rarely without social and environmental cost and risk. Hydropower is indeed low-carbon renewable energy, but new hydro development nonetheless needs to pass rigorous tests for its environmental and social impacts."

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