hydropower
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Infographics
The Big Picture: A U.S. Hydropower Profile (Infographic)
The U.S. conventional hydropower fleet includes 2,252 hydropower plants with a total generating capacity of 80.58 GW, which produced 6.2% of the country’s electricity in 2022 and nearly 30% of all renewable generation. In addition, it has 43 pumped-storage hydro (PSH) plants, a combined capacity of 22 GW, and an estimated energy storage capacity of 553 […]
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News and Notes
POWER Digest [December 2023]
Kenya Set to Expand Hydropower Project. Kenya Electricity Generating Co. (KenGen) said it received approval from government officials to move forward with the Gogo hydropower redevelopment project. The Gogo
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Coal
Cambodia Cancels Coal Plant in Favor of Gas-Fired Facility
A Cambodian energy official said the country no longer plans to build a coal-fired power plant along the nation’s southwest coast, and will instead move forward with a natural gas-fired facility. Energy Minister Keo Rottanak told the Reuters news service an official announcement is expected Nov. 30. Rottanak said the proposed 700-ME coal-fired plant, which […]
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Hydro
5 Things You Didn’t Know About Hydropower
For many years, the National Hydropower Association has designated August 24 as National Hydropower Day in the U.S. In honor of the occasion, POWER is highlighting a variety of things many people may not know about hydropower. 1. The First Electricity Generated in the U.S. by Hydropower Was in 1880 People have been using water […]
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Power
Marnie Surfaceblow (Fiction): Marnie and Maya and the Case of the Strangled Boiler
Don’t fall prey to preconceived notions—investigate all possibilities when searching for an answer to your operations and maintenance problems. “It’s sodium,” pronounced Marnie Surfaceblow, vice
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Coal
India Extends Emergency Operation Order for Plants Using Imported Coal
India’s government has issued an emergency order that extends the operation of coal-fired power plants using imported coal, as the country grapples with a shortage of domestic coal and continued high demand for electricity. The order, which came from the power ministry on Oct. 23, asks coal-fired power plants using imported coal to operate at […]
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Hydro
Major 2-GW Hydropower Station in Angola Now Fully Online
Officials in Angola announced that the Laúca hydroelectric power station is now fully operational, with Austrian company Andritz wrapping construction of the final 70-MW environmental flow power station at the site on the Kwanza River. Andritz built and installed all the units at the 2,070-MW plant, located on the border between the Angolan provinces of […]
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Hydro
Hydropower Horizons: Pioneering a Pelton Turbine Breakthrough
Voith Hydro in 2022 replaced four vertical Pelton turbines at Verbund’s 75-year-old 326-GWh Gerlos 1 pumped storage facility in Austria with a first-of-its-kind horizontal six-nozzle Pelton turbine
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Sustainability
Accelerating Sustainable Hydropower Development Around the World
The hydropower industry has placed a keen focus on sustainability in recent years. “The San José Declaration on Sustainable Hydropower,” a landmark declaration issued on Sept. 24, 2021, by the hydropower
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Hydro
Hydropower Plant in Norway Partly Collapses Due to Floods
Record-high river levels stemming from Storm Hans, a storm that battered southern Norway this week, have partially destroyed a dam on the Glåma River and inundated Hafslund Eco’s Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power plant. After days of heavy rain stemming from the powerful storm, which triggered widespread flooding and landslides, the two units at the 40-MW Braskereidfoss […]
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Trends
Integration of Hydropower and Hydrogen Gains Momentum
In May, U.S. national laboratories Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) partnered with regulated utility Idaho Power to determine the viability of integrating
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Hybrid Power
First Phase of 100-GW China Hydro/Solar Project Enters Service
Chinese officials on June 25 said the first phase of what is considered the world’s largest combined hydro and solar power plant has entered commercial operation. The Kela hydro/solar plant, part of an ambitious project anchored by the Lianghekou Hydropower Station on the Yalong River, is located in Yaijiang County in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. […]
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T&D
Maine Lawmakers Back Transmission Project for Renewable Energy
A project to build more than 100 miles of transmission lines, along with multiple substations, to enable the use of more renewable energy in Maine has received support from state lawmakers. LS Power Grid Maine, a subsidiary of New York-headquartered LS Power, on June 26 said the Aroostook Renewable Gateway effort has received the first […]
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Energy Security
Devastating Ukraine Dam Breach Raises Concerns for Nearby Nuclear Plant
A breach at the Nova Kakhovka Dam stemming from the destruction of the 351-MW hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine on June 6 has triggered massive flooding, prompted an environmental crisis, and raised new perils for a nearby nuclear plant on the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war. Completed in 1956, the Kakhovka hydropower power plant […]
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Hydro
Hydro, Gas Projects Aim to Bolster Cameroon’s Electricity Supply
A new hydroelectric dam in Cameroon is expected to begin producing power by the end of this year, with commercial operation beginning in 2024, according to an official with the African Development Bank (AfDB). Rokhaya Diop Diallo, who leads the project for AfDB, recently said work on the Nachtigal hydropower station is more than 80% […]
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Coal
Winter Demand for Coal, Gas Falls Across EU Despite Energy Concerns
An analysis from an energy research group shows European Union (EU) countries burned less coal and natural gas for power generation than in prior years, despite an ongoing energy crisis driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A study from Ember, a think-tank based in the UK, said coal-fired generation in the EU dropped 27 TWh […]
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Press Releases
FirstLight Power and H2O Power Announce Completion of Planned Integration
BURLINGTON, Mass. and OSHAWA, Ontario – April 11, 2023 – FirstLight Power, a leading clean power producer, developer, and energy storage company, today announced the company completed the planned integration of H2O Power, the third largest provider of hydroelectric power in Ontario. As the majority owner of over 150 Megawatts (MW) of generating capacity with […]
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Power
Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, and FDR: Big Players in U.S. Hydropower History
When you study the history of hydropower, you expect to learn about people like British-American engineer James Francis, who developed the first modern hydro turbine in 1849. A testament to his genius is that the Francis turbine continues to be the most widely used water turbine in the world today. Or you assume American inventor […]
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Coal
New Coal-Fired Unit Operating at Zimbabwe’s Largest Thermal Power Plant
The first of two 300-MW units being built as part of the expansion of a coal-fired generating station in Zimbabwe has come online. The Zimbabwe Power Co. (ZPC) said the unit began sending electricity to the national grid late on March 20. ZPC in a statement said, “Power will be progressively fed into the grid […]
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Press Releases
Voith Hydro and STRUCINSPECT advance monitoring of hydropower civil structures
Voith Hydro and STRUCINSPECT advance monitoring of hydropower civil structures Strong partnership between experienced equipment supplier and successful corporate start-up from Austria. Digital inspections lead to state-of-the-art digital infrastructure and lifecycle management. First hydropower facility monitoring currently underway in Scotland. HEIDENHEIM/VIENNA. Hydropower is the world’s largest source of renewable energy. In order to make the […]
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Press Releases
Voith Hydro opens new center of competence for generator components
Portfolio covers bars, coils, and poles for hydropower generators. Located in central Europe the sate-of-the art facility supplies Voith Hydro’s African and European markets as well as the Americas. Local officials and company representatives inaugurated the new generator component hub by the end of last year. LUKAVAC, BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA. Voith Hydro officially opened the […]
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Hydro
Trial Operation of Innovative Horizontal Pelton Hydropower Turbine Underway in Austria
A pioneering horizontal, six-nozzle Pelton turbine developed by Voith Hydro at the 326-GWh Gerlos 1 pumped storage facility in the Ziller Valley, Austria, is setting new benchmarks for the 140-year-old
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Hydro
Madagascar Ready to Ramp Up Hydropower Projects
Madagascar has significant hydropower potential, but to date less than 20% of the country’s energy comes from hydroelectric facilities. The Economic Development Agency of Madagascar (EDBM) estimates the island nation, located in the Indian Ocean off the cost of Southeast Africa, could produce as much as 7.8 GW of power from hydro resources, but at […]
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Hydro
IRENA Says Hydropower Capacity Must Double by 2050 to Meet Climate Goals
A new report issued this week by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says hydropower, which is already the largest source of renewable electricity in the world, must double in capacity if the world is to meet the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement by 2050. The report says installed hydro capacity must reach […]
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Infographics
The Big Picture: Off-Grid Power [Infographic]
An estimated 91% of the world’s population had access to electricity in 2020, marking substantial progress toward goals to ensure universal access to power. Still, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 733 million people remain unserved. Off-grid and decentralized energy systems may be emerging as an alternative to facilitate energy access and resilience, […]
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Coal
POWER Digest [February 2023]
Geothermal Plant Planned in Colombia. Colombian petroleum company Ecopetrol in December announced plans to build a 250-kW geothermal power plant in the Apiay oil complex in Meta, Colombia. The power plant will
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Press Releases
Peninsula Clean Energy Signs Four Contracts Expanding Renewable Power, Storage Capability
REDWOOD CITY, CA – Jan. 24, 2023 – Peninsula Clean Energy is moving forward with energy storage, geothermal, wind and small hydropower projects that will assist the agency’s industry leading effort to provide customers with renewable power on an hourly basis. Nova III will be Peninsula Clean Energy’s first stand-alone storage project and will provide […]
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Supply Chains
Power Sector Seeks Solutions for Supply Chain Issues
The pandemic exposed issues with the global supply chain that provides resources for power generation. The pressure of having enough equipment to meet industry needs has spurred an emphasis on domestic
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Press Releases
Glenfarne Energy Transition and Partners Group Joint Venture EnfraGen Announces Acquisition of Four Run-of-River Hydro Assets in Southern Chile
NEW YORK – December 30, 2022: EnfraGen, LLC (“EnfraGen”), a developer, owner, and operator of specialized sustainable, renewable power and grid stability assets in Latin America owned by Glenfarne Energy Transition, LLC, a global energy transition company providing critical solutions to lower the world’s carbon footprint addressing the “here and now” energy transition and leading […]
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Renewables
World Bank Group Financing West Africa Power Project
An agency associated with the World Bank will finance installation of solar and hydropower systems, and support related transmission and distribution infrastructure, to provide more electricity to areas of West Africa. The World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA) is investing $311 million into the Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention Project (RESPITE), an initiative designed […]