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    Hydropower

Hydropower facilities capture the kinetic energy of falling water to generate electricity. Hydropower is currently the largest source of renewable power, generating approximately 10% of the electricity used in the United States.

The most common type of hydropower plant uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which, in turn, activates a generator to produce electricity. But hydropower doesn't necessarily require a large dam. Some hydropower plants just use a small canal to channel the river water through a turbine.

Another type of hydropower plant—called a pumped storage plant—can even store power. The power is sent from a power grid into the electric generators. The generators then spin the turbines backward, which causes the turbines to pump water from a river or lower reservoir to an upper reservoir, where the power is stored. To use the power, the water is released from the upper reservoir back down into the river or lower reservoir. This spins the turbines forward, activating the generators to produce electricity.

Low-impact hydropower certification is of growing interest. In order to be qualified as a Green-e resource in Pennsylvania, a hydropower facility must already be in operation and have the ability to generate no more than 30 MW of electricity. Green-e organizations are currently working to develop a more detailed set of requirements to identify only "Low Impact" hydroelectric facilities as qualified Green-e resources.

Hydropower Links

Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI). LIHI is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the certification of environmentally responsible, "low impact" hydropower. The Low Impact Hydropower Institute was established to develop and administer a voluntary program to certify hydropower facilities with environmental impacts that are low compared to other hydropower facilities, based on objective environmental criteria. The goal of the Low Impact Hydropower Certification Program is to reduce the environmental impacts of hydropower generation, by creating an accepted standard for consumers to use in evaluating hydropower.

National Hydropower Association (NHA). NHA is a nonprofit national association dedicated exclusively to advancing the interests of the U.S. hydropower industry. It seeks to secure hydropower's place as an emissions-free, renewable and reliable energy source that serves national environmental and energy policy objectives. NHA unites the diverse North American hydropower community, providing a powerful advocacy voice among U.S. decision makers, the general public and the international community.

U.S. Department of Energy Hydropower Program. The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Hydropower Program is to develop, conduct, and coordinate research and development with industry and other Federal agencies to improve the technical, societal, and environmental benefits of hydropower.