EIA - USBR Projects 14% Decline In Hydropower Output In US In 2021; Dropoff Concentrated In West
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that there will be a 14% dip in hydropower in the U.S. this year. The vast majority of that decline is in the West. Drought reduces water and reservoir levels, which means less water to flow through hydroelectric dams.
The Bureau of Reclamation recently estimated that theres about a one-third chance that the powerhouse that is Lake Powell in southern Utah and northern Arizona could have too little water to produce power by August of 2023.
Idaho Power, that states largest utility, gets about 20% of its energy from coal, about 12% from natural gas and about 11% from wind. But its largest single energy source is hydroelectricity. Adam Richins is chief operating officer for that utility. He said even though the company gets about 40% of its energy from hydropower, they plan for droughts. In the short term, they can pull from sources like wind and solar and the batteries connected to them.
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Projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that even if areas get average rain and snow amounts, more heat will melt and evaporate the moisture more quickly. Richins said if increasing droughts keep affecting hydropower, he expects utilities around the West will keep branching out to new wind and solar projects, batteries, transmission lines and possibly even nuclear energy.
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https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/news/2021-09-24/hydropower-dips-during-western-drought