Hydro Map Use the interactive map below to explore plant level data from the Energy Information Administration and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Click the buttons for existing hydropower and pumped storage to explore all currently operable hydropower across the United States. Find individual plants by name using the search bar. Click the map markers to view details about each plant including capacity, balancing authority, owner, number of generators, and current status. Click the button for development pipeline to explore all planned hydropower and pumped storage across the country. Click the map markers to view details about each project including FERC docket number, permit status, planned capacity, project developer, and developer type. Click the non-powered dams button to explore the dams with the greatest potential for hydropower generation. Click the map markers to view details about each NPD including build year, storage capacity, estimated capacity and generation, and owner. Toggle the congressional districts overlay to quickly see where plants, projects, and NPDs are on the congressional map.
What is conventional hydropower?
Conventional hydroelectric facilities are typically either run-of-river systems or reservoir systems. A run-of-river plant diverts the flow of a river’s current towards a hydro turbine to generate electricity. A reservoir plant uses an impoundment, or dam, to accumulate water from a stream or river and release it through hydro turbines as needed to generate electricity.
Although there are over 90,000 dams in the United States, less than 3% generate electricity. Most of these dams have reservoirs with multiple use cases including flood control, irrigation, and recreation. Because of this, there is large potential for converting non-powered dams, mostly owned by public entities like the USACE, into hydroelectric power plants.
The United States has been generating electricity from hydropower since the 1880s. In its early years, the construction and management of hydropower was fostered by the federal government. The Bureau of Reclamation became involved in 1902, and soon after, Congress began authorizing the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to build hydro facilities across the country. Rapid development ensued through the 1930s and 40s, with the Hoover Dam being constructed in 1936. In the 1950s, hydropower was responsible for 30% of total U.S. generation.
Today, conventional hydropower is owned and operated by a variety of entities, such as the federal government, public power, and private producers. However, much of the U.S. fleet is still federally owned.
Conventional Hydropower Capacity and Generation
The electric grid has been relying on hydropower for carbon free, renewable capacity long before the growth of wind and solar. Even now, hydropower generates about 28% of total renewable electricity.
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The U.S. conventional hydropower has a total generating capacity of about 80GWs. Nameplate capacity is the measure of maximum electric output for a generation asset, according to the generator’s manufacturer, under optimal conditions. Capacity factor is a measure of how often a resource is producing at its full nameplate capacity. Conventional hydropower has a capacity factor of about 36%.
The top five hydropower producing states are Washington, California, Oregon, New York, and Alabama. Most hydropower capacity is in the Pacific Northwest. For instance, the state of Washington generates a quarter of total U.S. hydroelectricity and is dependent upon hydro for two-thirds of the state’s electricity.
U.S. Total Conventional Hydroelectric Generation
Avoided Emissions
That historic contribution has resulted in hundreds of millions of metric tons in avoided CO2 emissions in the last 20 years alone. In 2022, conventional hydropower generation avoided 180.6MMTs of CO2e, or the emissions of 48 coal-fired power plants in one year. It would take 50,231 windmills to offset the same amount of carbon emissions that conventional hydropower does in a year.
