Hydropower

Image courtesy of Brookfield Renewable Power

Hydropower technologies are familiar in New York State, with their use dating back over 100 years to the 1880s. Today, about 19% of the electricity produced here comes from the hydropower facilities at Niagara Falls, on the St. Lawrence River, and elsewhere.

Hydropower refers is the power that is derived from the force or energy of moving water. Emissions-free electricity is produced when falling water at dams rotates turbines. Despite their lack of air pollutants, large hydropower projects do disrupt the natural flow of rivers and can have a significant impact on environmental landscapes and ecosystems.

With improvements in technology, today's smaller hydro projects can be designed to minimize harm to fish and wildlife populations. Hydroelectric plants that do not require reservoir capacity, called low-impact or run-of-the-river, are much preferred by environmentalists due to their reduced impact on natural landscapes. A tidal power plant, which makes use of the daily rise and fall of water due to tides, is another environmentally-friendly alternative to large-scale hydropower and is very effective due to its high predictability. A less common type of hydro that has great potential for the future is kinectic hydropower. Kinetic hydropower can generate electricity by converting the energy found in the flowing water currents of oceans, tides, rivers and manmade channels or conduits, and the turbines used are scalable, easy to maintain, and have reduced environmental impact.

In New York, hydropower is included in the Renewable Portfolio Standard program. Efficiency improvements at existing dams, combined with small low-impact projects, create important potential for providing new sources of clean and renewable electricity to New Yorkers.