Hydropower: America's Forgotten Clean Energy Giant

Hydropower runs in 48 of 50 states and makes nearly a quarter of U.S. renewable power.

It also stores power. Pumped storage, which works like a giant water battery, holds about four-fifths of the grid’s utility-scale energy storage.

Yet U.S. hydro capacity has grown less than 3% since 2010. Slow licensing is a big reason why.

Today’s guest is Malcolm Woolf, president and CEO of the National Hydropower Association and former head of the Maryland Energy Administration.

In this episode:

• Hydro’s role after a blackout: 6% of U.S. power, but 40% of the grid’s restart capacity
• The 1910 generator Malcolm mistook for a brand-new one
• Why a hydro license can come with a bill for Forest Service roads hundreds of miles away, or a Boy Scout amphitheater
• Fish-safe turbines with a 99.9% survival rate, and a “fish cannon” that shoots fish over dams
• The national lab study projecting that climate change will raise U.S. hydro output by about 5%
• Why 97% of America’s dams make no power at all

Links:

Our website: https://www.energyempire.fm

National Hydropower Association: https://www.hydro.org

Whooshh fish passage video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z3ZyGlqUkA

S2G Investments: https://www.s2ginvestments.com/insights/report-illusion-of-crowds

Octopus Energy: https://octopusenergy.com/faas

Our merch store: https://energy-empire.bonfire.com/collection/all-products