HYDROPOWER TRENDS

Joan Harn, National Park Service

Thomas O’Keefe, American Whitewater

Susan Rosebrough, National Park Service

John Seebach, American Rivers

Rupak Thapaliya, American Rivers/Hydropower Reform Coalition

RMS/SORP, Boise, Idaho

May 2016

http://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/existing-hydropower-assets

Learning Objectives

● Identify information resources about hydropower development potential;

● Identify policy initiatives affecting hydropower development; and

● Identify tools and information to effectively participate in relicensing and new

hydropower development.

Topics/Format

• DOE Hydropower Resource Assessments and Vision

• Case Studies

• What is Sustainable Hydropower?

• DOE Hydropower Vision/Roadmap

• Legislative Proposals

• Call to Action

• Resources to Get Involved

• Take Home Messages

● Is it possible to develop new sustainable hydropower?

● Is it possible for hydropower involving new dam construction to be

sustainable? (vs. hydropower involving existing water infrastructure)

● If so, what does sustainable new hydropower development look like?

Some questions to start:

DOE Hydropower Resource Assessments

Key Take Home Messages:

• There is a lot of potential for adding new hydropower on existing dams and in

free flowing streams.

• These may be places you want to protect.

• DOE’s resource assessments are driving policy recommendations. This is

the purpose behind the DOE’s Hydropower Vision.

Department of Energy Hydropower Vision

http://energy.gov/eere/water/new-vision-united-states-hydropower`

“This landmark vision will establish the analytical basis for an ambitious roadmap

to usher in a new era of growth in sustainable domestic hydropower over the next

half century. Included in this effort will be:

• A close examination of the current the state of the hydropower industry

• A discussion of the costs and benefits to the nation arising from additional

hydropower

• A roadmap addressing the challenges to achieving higher levels of

hydropower deployment within a sustainable national energy mix.”

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/12/f5/npd_report_0.pdf

DOE Hydropower Vision Non-powered Dams

http://nhaap.ornl.gov/nsd

Examples of Unrealistic “New” Hydropower Potential

● Penobscot, ME

● Klamath, OR

● Patapsco, MD

Iron Gate Dam, Klamath River, Thomas O’Keefe

Hydro Potential – Pacific Northwest

Wild Olympics

Elwha River Post Dam Removal

Wild Olympics

Chelan River

9 Listed Fish

Species

South Fork Skykomish Watershed

Site was proposed in the

past

New diversion,

hydropower project

Create a 1.1 mile bypass

diverting up to 2500 cfs

reach over two scenic

waterfalls

30 MW / 22,500 homes

Snohomish County PUD

Sunset Falls Hydroelectric Project

Existing Protections and Environmental

Concerns

Eligible/Suitable, but not

designated

Nationwide Rivers

Inventory

State Scenic River

Kaykers, near Sunset Falls

Photo Credit: Thomas O’Keefe

Sunset Falls

Photo Credit: SnoPUD

Canyon Falls,

Photo Credit: Monroe Monitor

• Draft License Application

Submitted – Winter 2016

• SnoPUD to submit the Final

License Application -

Winter 2017

• FERC to begin the

Environmental Document

Process

• Commission to Issue Final

Decision

Status

Skykomish River

Photo credit: Herald

Hydro Potential – Great Basin

Bear River-Battle Creek • Hydro Potential: 20.5 MW

2 listed fish species

Bear River Narrows

• Create a new dam,

4.5 mile long

reservoir

• Size: 10 MW; 7500

homes

• Proposed by: Twin

Lakes Canals

• Hydropower &

water storage for

irrigation

Source: FERC EA, Twin Lakes Canals

Existing Protections & Environmental Concerns

Eligible/Suitable but

Not designated Onieda Canyon, Photo Credit: Kevin Lewis

Cutthroat Trout, Photo Credit: Idaho Fish & Game

Status

•EIS submitted, FERC staff recommends license denial

•Awaiting final order from the Commission

Sustainable Hydropower

• What does “sustainable hydropower” mean, anyway?

• Is new “sustainable” hydropower possible?

• Where are the good places to develop new hydropower

and meet environmental and social objectives?

Maintains and increases low-carbon hydropower generation while concurrently: 1) providing environmental and social

benefits at the basin- and national- scales through integrated planning and management and

1) avoiding impacts at the local scale

through best practices in siting, design, operation and technology.

40

Sustainability Approach

…planned (sited and designed), constructed, operated and decommissioned in a way that meets or exceeds social, environmental and economic principles:

Social

● Public health and safety

● Transparent and participatory decision processes

● Tribal treaty rights and cultural heritage

● Recreation

Environmental

● Ecosystems and biodiversity

● Flow and sediment regimes

● Water Quality ● Water and GHG

footprint

Economic

● Life cycle approach ● Informed markets ● Performance of

existing infrastructure ● Coupled financial

security and flexibility

Draft ‘principle’ areas to benchmark a vision for sustainable growth

Potential Environmental Objectives Maximize the persistence of the full complement of native species, ecosystems and their services at national, basin and local scales by investing in hydropower development that:

Sensitive and high value communities

Avoids nation's remaining sensitive and high value freshwater and coastal systems

Sustains habitat for State and Federally listed and candidate species

Supports viability of migratory fish populations

Connectivity Sustains or increases functionally connected riverine habitats

Flow Regime Maintains key components of the flow regime including seasonality, baseflows, extreme flow events, and short-term variability

Sediment Supports sediment regimes that sustain habitat for riverine, wetland, floodplain and estuarine ecosystems.

Water Quality Supports water quality for beneficial uses of waterways including DO, temperature pH, sediment and nutrients

Water and GHG Minimizes emissions of GHG's and consumptive water use losses)

Potential Social Objectives

Public health and safety

Minimizes risk to downstream communities as a result of operations or modifications to existing or construction of new facilities

Governance Ensures transparent, participatory, and timely decision processes

Cultural heritage Honors indigenous tribal treaty rights Supports the cultural heritage of local, national, and international communities

Water supply Ensures the provision of adequate water supplies for local communities, and public purposes

Recreation Maintains or increases recreation opportunities and access

Maintains or increases aesthetic experience

Back to the DOE Hydropower Vision Roadmap

“a roadmap addressing the challenges to achieving

higher levels of hydropower deployment within a

sustainable national energy mix.”

DOE Hydropower Vision Roadmap Projects - draft

1. Increasing hydropower resilience to climate change.

2. Better integrating hydropower with variable renewable resources and

renewable energy markets.

3. Improved, lower-cost hydropower technologies.

4. Evaluating environmental sustainability of new hydropower.

5. Removing market / financing barriers to new hydro.

6. Improving “regulatory outcomes.”

Legislative Proposals

• Industry says legislation needed to “modernize” an outdated process:

• “Improved coordination”

• “Reduced delay”

• “Better information”

• Actual effect of legislative proposals:

• Further centralizes authority with FERC

• Undermines / weakens natural resource agency authorities and forces them to adhere to

arbitrary timelines or lose their authorities.

• More reliance on existing studies.

Call to Action

• Identify the hydropower potential in your river and

watershed.

• Identify your objectives and how you can measure them.

• Be proactive about river protection - know the potential

threats to your river and consider options for protection.

Hydropower Reform Coalition Hydro Guides

“We wrote the book on hydropower licensing…”

• Hydropower licensing

• Science

• Activist’s Preparation

• Shorelands

• Media

• Flows and Recreation

• Hydrokinetic Energy Projects & Recreation: A Guide to Assessing Impacts

Other Hydropower Resources:

• DOE Hydropower Vision - http://energy.gov/eere/water/new-vision-united-states-

hydropower

• ORNL Hydropower - http://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/nhaap-research-data

• ORNL HydroGIS Viewer - http://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/hydrogis-0

• NREL RAPID Hydropower Toolkit - http://en.openei.org/wiki/RAPID/Hydropower

• NPS Hydropower Assistance - https://www.nps.gov/hydro/

• Hydropower Reform Coalition-http://www.hydroreform.org

• American Whitewater - http://www.americanwhitewater.org

• American Rivers - http://www.americanrivers.org

Take Home Messages

• Increasing interest in expanding hydropower

• Hydropower policy today is increasingly driven by interest in expanding clean

renewable energy.

• You can influence where and how hydropower is developed and protect the

rivers you care about.

• Be vigilant - ask for help and plan ahead!