Hydropower is More than Just Clean Energy
Hydropower is the nation’s first renewable resource, providing clean, carbon-free energy to roughly 30 million American homes. Yes, it’s essential to our clean energy future, but there’s so much more below the surface. Many don’t realize that hydropower also enriches our communities by protecting our ecosystems and creating community gathering places.
Enriching Communities
We want our electricity to be clean & renewable. But is that enough? What if your power built camp grounds & hiking trails? Unlike other energy resources, hydropower enriches our communities by providing gathering spaces. Boating and fishing opportunities…that’s hydropower. Hydropower has also created unexpected spaces like beaches and an observatory for stargazing. So plug in your phone or turn on your TV, and know that the hydropower that is powering your lifestyle, might have also created a recreational area in your neighborhood.
Protecting Ecosystems
Does your electricity protect wetlands? Does it protect wildlife habitats, collaborate with communities to improve wildfire mitigation, and work to improve water quality to protect aquatic life? Hydropower isn’t just clean energy. And while it might fly below the radar, hydropower is working to protect our natural ecosystems in ways that other resources do not.
In the Northeast, Hydropower is in Your Backyard…
Today, we’re no longer taking our electricity for granted. We want a sustainable source of power that is carbon-free and always available. You may not know it, but there’s a source of power on your lakes and rivers, that’s in your backyard that’s been doing just that for generations.
Maine
Maine is home to 100 hydropower facilities – many of them are small hydropower facilities that are under 10MW. Click here to view a map
Massachusetts
Massachusetts has 72 hydropower facilities throughout the state, including a pumped storage hydropower project. Pumped storage acts like a giant “water battery” soaking up excess generation and providing it to the electrical grid when we need it the most. Click here to view a map
New York
From Niagara Falls to Buffalo to Long Island, and everywhere in-between, New York boasts over 200 hydropower plants. Click here to view a map
