Hydropower

Cost & Benefit Analysis

Angela Zhang; Catherine Delage

History
simple water wheel (A brief history, 2014)
kinetic energy of water
work to grind grain
provided power to the
first factories during the
Industrial Revolution

History (contd)
First hydroelectric powerplant in Appleton,
Wisconsin
Water wheels made way for large dams filled
with turbines connected to alternating
current generators

Today: hydroelectricity
kinetic to electric
reliability
on-demand power
water flow control

current scope (USGS, 2014)

7% of electricity in US
19% of electricity worldwide

Three-part system
dam, reservoir, electric plant (National
Geographic, 2008)
electricity goes through transmission lines to grid

Types: Storage (impoundment)

storage (U.S. Energy Information
Administration, 2014)

Types: Pumped-Storage
pumped-storage (U.S. Department of
Energy, 2015)
like a battery

Types: Run-of-the-River
run-of-the-river (diversion) (U.S. Department
of Energy, 2015)
small- and micro-hydropower systems

Environmental Availability
GHG and pollution (USGS, 2014)
no fossil fuels
cleaner

water cycle = renewable

non-intermittent (National Academies, 2008)
compare to solar, wind

Environmental Drawbacks
ecology
fish biodiversity,
migration

habitat alterations
& destruction
water
land

limited land and

water resources
methane from reservoirs

Social Ramifications
Human displacement (Wines, 2011)
Three Gorges Dam

Downstream Impact (Commerford, 2011)

Disturbs traditional agricultural practices

Boomtown Effect (Cernea, 2004)

Safety

Economic Sustainability
high investment costs (Lund, 2014)
mitigated by short payback period

efficiency -- 85-90%
stable energy prices (Lund, 2014)
domestic energy source
energy security

Hydropower in Brazil
Huge investment in hydropower (A brief
history, 2014)
Itaipu Dam - second largest hydropower plant
worldwide
GDP growth
Energy Independent
Only 2% of electricity consumption is from imported
energy (A brief history, 2014; Sharma, 2011)

Future limitations
most resources already in use (USGS, 2014)
land, water
largest US producers: Oregon, Washington,
California (National Academies, 2008)

Forseeable prospects
small-scale hydro plants (USGS, 2014)
home, community, rural, developing countries

marine technology (National Hydropower

Association, 2009)

ocean currents
marine thermal gradients
waves, tides
needs more R&D

Findings
benefits vs. tradeoffs
environmental, social, resource limitations

limited large-scale expansion

References
A brief history of hydropower. (2014, January 1). Retrieved April 19, 2015, from
http://www.hydropower.org/a-brief-history-of-hydropower
Commerford, M. (2011). Hydroelectricity: The Negative Ecological and Social Impact and the Policy That Should
Govern It. Energy Economics and Policy.
EPA (n.d.). Hydroelectric Dam [Diagram], Retrieved April 14, 2014, from:
http://epa.gov/climatestudents/images/4-1-3-hydro.gif
Glen Canyon Dam [Photograph], Retrieved May 5, 2015, from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Glen_canyon_dam.jpg
US Army Corps of Engineers. Ludington Harbor [Photograph]. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from:
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/portals/69/siteimages/AerialPhotos/LudingtonHarbor.jpg

National Academies (2008). Hydroelectric. What You Need to Know About Energy. Retrieved from http://needtoknow.
nas.edu/energy/energy-sources/renewable-sources/hydroelectric/
National Geographic (2008). Hydropower. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://environment.nationalgeographic.
com/environment/global-warming/hydropower-profile/
Oregon Live. Bonneville Dam [Photograph], Retrieved May 4, 2015, from:
http://media.oregonlive.com/business_impact/photo/bonneville-damjpg-2283aec6bdc40cc4.jpg

Sullivan Water Wheel (n.d.). Water Wheel ([Photograph], Retrieved May 5, 2015, from: http://sullivanswaterwheels.
com/
Trip Advisor. Fish Ladder [Photograph], Retrieved April 13, 2015, from: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photos/05/db/35/16/fish-ladder.jpg
U.S. Department of Energy (2015). Types of hydropower plants. Energy.gov. Retrieved from http://energy.
gov/eere/water/types-hydropower-plants
U.S. Energy Information Administration (2014). Hydropower explained. EIA. Retrieved from http://www.eia.
gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=hydropower_home
USGS. Reservoir construction is "drying up" in the United States [Chart]. Retrieved April 14, 2015, from: https://water.
usgs.gov/edu/wuhy.html
USGS (2014). Hydroelectric power water use. USGS Water Science School. Retrieved from https://water.usgs.
gov/edu/wuhy.html (USGS)
Wines, M. (2011, May 19). China admits problems with Three Gorges Dam. New York Times.