hydropower

The hydropower industry stands at a critical juncture where traditional operation and maintenance are quickly becoming obsolete. As global energy demand surges and grid systems become increasingly dynamic, hydropower operators face unprecedented challenges in maintaining optimal machine performance under variable operating conditions while at the same time managing aging infrastructure and reduced staffing levels. Not […]

A hydroelectric facility that first came online in 1903 stands as a testament to early 20th-century hydroelectric engineering. Although much of its original structure and machinery remains in service today, a recent breaker upgrade illustrates how thoughtful modernization and modern equipment built “like it used to be” can sustain aging infrastructure.

Framatome has been selected by Electrabel, part of ENGIE Group, to modernize the rod control system of the Tihange 3 nuclear reactor in Belgium.

The NTPC Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station, with an installed generation capacity of 4,783 MW, comprises 13 coal-fired units and includes solar and hydropower installations. The plant continues to implement advanced emission-control technologies as part of India’s broader decarbonization strategy.

Industrial technology group Emerson said the company has completed a multi-year modernization project at four hydroelectric dams along the Salt River in Arizona. The upgrades, announced September 30, are at Salt River Project (SRP) facilities with combined generation capacity of 265 MW.

A global technology company focused on the hydropower sector has completed another turbine upgrade at the Roxburgh Hydropower Station in New Zealand.

China has started construction of what would be the world’s largest hydropower dam. Chinese Premier Li Qiang on July 19 led a ceremony marking groundbreaking for the Motuo Hydropower Station, a project with an estimated cost of $167 billion that could generate as much as three times the electricity of the 22.5-GW Three Gorges project. […]

Technology giant Google announced the company will buy as much as 3 GW of hydropower generation capacity from Brookfield Renewable, an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management. The companies on July 15 said the deal is a “hydro framework agreement” that will support Google’s goal of having data centers and other operations run continuously on carbon-free power.

Energy solutions provider Ameresco announced a partnership with Alaska’s Juneau Hydropower to develop, build, and operate a 19.8-MW hydropower station at Sweetheart Lake. The facility is located 33 miles south of downtown Juneau. The project also includes installation of a battery energy storage system (BESS) and more than 40 miles of high-voltage transmission infrastructure.

Hydroelectric power generation hit a 10-year high in Europe in 2024, while hydro growth in other regions—most notably China—kept the technology at the top of the list when it comes to global energy output from renewable resources. The International Hydropower Association (IHA) in its 2025 World Hydropower Outlook said hydro is playing a “stablizing role” in Europe and elsewhere when it comes to power supplies at a time of heightened concern about volatile markets and shifting policies around energy, particularly in the U.S.

Renewable energy developer and project operator Agilitas Energy announced it the company has acquired two late-stage hydropower development projects from Advanced Hydro Solutions. Agilitas on June 24 said the 30-MW Tygart Hydropower Project in Grafton, West Virginia, and the 14-MW Jennings Randolph Hydropower Project in Garrett County, Maryland, represent Agilitas Energy’s first hydropower assets. It […]

Energy equipment group GE Vernova said it has commissioned the first of four 250-MW variable speed units at THDC India Limited’s Tehri Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant, part of the Tehri Hydropower Complex. The 1-GW expansion will increase the facility’s power generation capacity to 2.4 GW, making it the country’s largest hydropower plant.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto said it will invest $1.2 billion to modernize a hydroelectric power plant in Quebec, Canada. The company on May 15 said the project is part of its bid to secure future aluminum production in the Canadian province. The money will pay for upgrades to the Isle-Maligne hydropower plant, which was commissioned in 1926 in Alma, Quebec.

As wind and solar dominate global investment in renewable energy, hydropower’s potential to enhance grid resilience and expand energy supply remains largely untapped, and that potential is only expanding with the integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).

An African banking group announced it will finance development of a 200-MW hydropower installation along the Lufira River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The project is the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) first private-sector renewable energy initiative in the DRC. Afreximbank is partnering with Kipay Investments SAS (Kipay). Officials on Dec. 18 said the […]

GE Vernova said it has secured an order with Dominion Energy South Carolina to modernize two hydropower units at the Saluda Hydro facility on the Saluda River about 10 miles west of Columbia, South Carolina. The company on Dec. 2 said the project “will help extend the lifetime, reliability, performance, and operational flexibility of the […]

Officials with Kenya’s Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) said the country is on track to start construction on its first nuclear power plant by 2027. The group at a parliamentary hearing this month said the facility would begin generating power by 2034. Kenya’s move is the latest by an African nation as more countries […]

China Completes World’s Largest Pumped Storage Facility. China has completed the 3.6-GW Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station, in Hebei province. Operated by the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC), the

A project that will demonstrate the conversion of a former coal mine in Bell County, Kentucky, into a utility-scale 287-MW pumped storage hydroelectric facility has garnered federal backing from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). Rye Development, a pumped storage hydropower developer, on Sept. 25 secured $12.1 million—the first tranche […]

The Dept. of Energy’s (DOE’s) Grid Deployment Office has awarded $34.5 million to California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The funding will support 19 hydropower projects across PG&E’s territory. The utility on September 24 said the money is part of the DOE’s Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentive program. The Grid Deployment Office in early […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 293 hydroelectric projects across 33 states that will receive up to $430 million in incentive payments for capital improvements directly related to grid resiliency, dam safety, and environmental improvements. The funding, unveiled on Sept. 5, stems from the DOE Grid Deployment Office’s (GDO’s) Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives […]

A run-of-river hydro project on the St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend, Indiana, spearheaded by the University of Notre Dame, was one of the first ever in the U.S. to utilize the StreamDiver propeller

As the oldest renewable energy resource, hydropower is well-established as a reliable source of dispatchable energy. Yet, it is often overlooked and taken for granted. It’s commonly believed that hydro’s

Mitsubishi Power will supply its gas turbine technology to a new power plant in Brazil, a 1.6-GW facility considered among the largest electricity generation projects in Latin America. The company on May 31 said a consortium including Mitsubishi Power and CONSAG Engenharia signed an agreement with Portocem Geração de Energia S.A. and New Fortress Energy […]

A pumped storage project in Kentucky is being touted as a model example of how land that once was the site of a coal mine can be repurposed for a renewable energy installation. The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project, a closed-loop, 287-MW hydropower facility, is being constructed at a site where coal was mined beginning […]

A UK- based global research group said continued growth in wind and solar power increased power generation from renewable energy to nearly a third of worldwide electricity output last year. Ember, a think tank headquartered in London, in its “Global Electricity Review 2024” released May 8 wrote that the numbers show a goal to triple […]

The first unit of one of the world’s highest-elevation hydropower plants began operating in China in April. China Energy said the Maerdang hydropower station (Figure 5), sited at more than 16,000 feet above

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will partner with GE Vernova to complete a 15-year project to refurbish the iconic 1.7-GW Sir Adam Beck I and II hydroelectric complex near Niagara Falls. The C$1 billion ($724 million) project unveiled on April 16 will comprise the first phase of OPG’s larger plans to overhaul all five of its […]

Renewable energy in Brazil will get a boost after the chief executive of Petrobras, the country’s state-run oil giant, said the company will begin buying solar power and onshore wind projects in an effort to build a clean energy portfolio. Jean Paul Prates, in an interview with the Reuters news service published Jan. 22, said […]

Work continues on what would be the largest hydropower project in Angola, a $5.2 billion run-of-river power station that Angolan officials have said could come online as early as 2026. Technology group Voith on Dec. 19 said it is supplying all the electrical and mechanical equipment for the Caculo Cabaca facility, located in the midstream […]