SOLAR TODAY - January/February 2012

renewable energy development

to expand what is already the nation’s largest renewable resource. Hydropower provides about 7 percent of the nation’s electricity, accounting for roughly 65 percent of the nation’s renewable energy generation. Current U.S. hydro generating capacity is approximately 100,000 MW.

Updated hydro resource assessments from the DOE and the Bureau of Reclamation have identified thousands of megawatts of additional, economically feasible, untapped hydro resources. A Navigant Consulting study commissioned by the National Hydropower Association found that, with the right policies, the U.S. hydropower industry could add about 60,000 MW of new hydro capacity by installing more efficient turbines at existing hydro sites, increasing the use of pumped storage projects, encouraging run-of-river projects, employing new marine and hydrokinetic technologies and developing new hydro at existing dams. Nationwide, there are approximately 80,000 dams, only about 3 percent of which currently include hydro. Pumped storage is getting increasing attention as an opportunity to “firm up” generation from intermittent renewable sources.

Hydro has managed to avoid the excessive partisanship in Washington, D.C. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced S. 629, the comprehensive Hydropower Improvement Act, with bipartisan co-sponsorship last spring.

34 January/February 2012 SOLAR TODA Y solartoday.org Colo., is working to return to service its 1-MW Castle Creek Hydro Plant, which was decommissioned in 1962.

Bob Risch, mayor of the mountain community of Ouray, Colo., realized that an abandoned water supply pipeline created an opportunity to save money for the city and offset the electricity load for the city-owned Hot Springs Pools. With a grant from the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office, in 2010 Ouray completed installation of a 20-k W hydro system.

For many mountain towns, the municipal water system consists of a pipeline high up a mountainside that carries water down to a water treatment plant. The water system typically must install pressure-reducing valves that can sometimes be profitably retrofitted with small hydro.

Assessing the Untapped Resource

For many years, conventional wisdom held that hydropower was tapped out in terms of opportunities for new development. Under the Bush administration, hydropower was zeroed out from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) budget.

The Obama administration has taken a fresh look at developing hydro resources — seeking

Cutting Regulatory Red Tape

One of the biggest barriers to small hydro development has been federal permitting requirements. Under the Federal Power Act, grid-connected small hydropower projects are subject to permitting requirements that can be particularly onerous for small projects.

In December 2009, FERC held a public conference to solicit input from small-hydro developers about how to make the permitting process easier. FERC subsequently published updated small-hydro permitting information on its website, including templates to simplify the process.

In August 2010, the state of Colorado announced a memorandum of understanding with FERC. The Colorado Governor’s Energy Office is simplifying permitting for “ incidental hydro,” which takes advantage of existing infrastructure such as pipelines. Eligible projects for the program must qualify for a Conduit Exemption or a 5-MW Exemption under FERC’s guidelines.

The first hydro project approved by FERC under the new program was announced in Sep-

Small hydro projects typically take advantage of existing infrastructure to minimize environmental impact. Last March, the Bureau of Reclamation released an assessment of hydro potential at dams built by Reclamation. It is completing a similar assessment of Reclamation-owned canals.

In addition to existing dams and pipelines, irrigation ditches and canals can be retrofitted with hydro, although there has not yet been a comprehensive national study of untapped hydro potential of canals. The Bureau of Reclamation is completing an assessment of hydro potential in Reclamation-owned canals.