At first glance, hydropower may seem at odds with sustainability principles, but its operations intersect with sustainability goals, sometimes beyond the scope of renewable energy. For example, the water is used to power turbines in a non-consumptive process that does not impact water quality. Also, hydropower projects have incredible longevity. Globally, the average hydropower plant is 30 years old. In the US, the average is 64, although many, especially in the Northeast, are more than 100 years old. Some of those use their original turbines to provide meaningful amounts of electricity and additional grid services.
One example is the Mother Ann Lee Project in Kentucky, which has been operating since the 1920s. It is located along the Kentucky River, which historically has had poor oxygen levels at certain times of the year. In 2005, the project voluntarily adopted an adaptive management plan to improve the river’s oxygen levels.
By prioritizing community benefits, accountability, and transparency and approaching hydropower through the lens of sustainability, hydropower can provide benefits to the environment, area habitats, and surrounding communities.
Community Benefits
One community benefit comes in the form of educational opportunities: introducing students to renewable energy and inspiring future careers in environmental science, engineering, and sustainable resource management. Exposure to hydropower operations fosters a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between energy production, water management, and ecosystem conservation, equipping young learners with the knowledge and motivation to tackle future environmental challenges.
For instance, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the downtown hydropower facility routinely hosts school groups at its accessible powerhouse, which is downstream of a historic mill building erected in 1793. In Oregon, the Falls Creek Project hosts fourth graders yearly at its rural facility. Students learn about energy production and ecosystem preservation, reinforcing the significance of responsible environmental stewardship.
The Bowersock Project in Lawrence, Kansas, takes community engagement a step further with a public partnership. When the plant added a second powerhouse, it tripled potential generation while also contributing to the circular economy by sourcing two used turbines for 2 MW of capacity. Bowersock Mills & Power Co. owns the dam, but the City of Lawrence is responsible for maintaining its structural integrity, as the reservoir is the source of more than half the city’s drinking water supply.
Bowersock manages the daily operations and ensures the reservoir is held at the appropriate level, lowering operating costs for the city’s municipal water operations. As a bonus, owner Sarah Hill-Nelson is working with regional stakeholders and conservation groups to create a recreation park upstream of the powerhouse that will include the restoration of native vegetation in the river corridor. Hydropower facilities like Bowersock are enhancing community engagement, fostering environmental literacy, and demonstrating the broader societal benefits of renewable energy investments by integrating public education with conservation efforts.
Improved Biodiversity
Biodiversity is key to climate adaptation but is profoundly impacted by climate change. Hydropower operates on both sides of this equation. On the one hand, dams can prevent fish migration and slow flows, leading to warming waters. On the other hand, they can artificially create cool water sources for critical habitats.
Maine’s Freedom Falls Project is the first US installation of a new turbine design that is nearly 100% safe for downstream fish passage. Although small (350 kW), the design is highly efficient and provides evidence that turbines can be cost-effective and protective, eliminating the need for expensive screens that block the entrance of fish into the turbines but also reduce energy output.
Another good example is the Cutler Project in Utah, which created a buffer zone around the Bear River, protecting nearly 99% of the undeveloped area that encircles the facility. The owner also planted vegetation to create designated wildlife habitats and restore native plants and grasses.
Traditionally, hydropower facilities have been viewed as environmental disruptors, but even that can be a benefit. When the Bowersock Project went through relicensing in 2020, the owner actively considered adding fish passage to the dam to benefit local fish species (historically, there have been no anadromous fish species present in this stretch of the river). However, state and federal resource agencies were concerned with preventing the spread of invasive carp, which can wipe out native species. Native species have demonstrated the capacity to pass the low-head dam at high flows; invasive species have not. The dam now serves as a barrier and is the site of ongoing studies.
Municipal hydropower facilities have sometimes extended their environmental efforts to the larger regional state. For example, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) installed three hydropower facilities within its water supply infrastructure, which provides most of eastern Massachusetts with its drinking water. With no direct impacts on the environment, MWRA partners with the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to provide statewide watershed protection actions. MWRA also funds the DCR’s watershed management programs, in part from the sale of the project’s renewable energy credits.
Transparency & Accountability
Most hydropower facilities in the US are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which posts all non-sensitive project documents to its e-library, an excellent source of technical information and a way for the public to participate in FERC licensing processes. This level of governmental transparency is somewhat unique globally and is the launching point for Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) assessments. Globally, assessment needs to start earlier, beginning with assessments of whether or not developers deeply considered a project’s intersection with communities and ecosystems.
LIHI certifies hydropower that meets science-based criteria in eight areas of common impact, with more than 20% of facilities going above and beyond license requirements or the minimum LIHI criteria. The LIHI process also includes a framework for assessing renewable energy procurement options, which can serve as a guide for similar questions for solar and wind projects.
Like FERC, LIHI’s process is open and incorporates public comment into its certification decisions. Unlike FERC, LIHI’s review cycle is 10 years with yearly compliance demands (FERC’s cycle lasts between 30 and 50 years). In many countries, if a license is required, it is often issued for life. LIHI publishes individual webpages with materials and information on each of its 186 active certified projects (and more than 300 facilities), providing a point of contact and regular updates for those facilities.
Energy buyers concerned with transparency and environmental performance can encourage LIHI certification of a project under consideration. Doing so can cause direct improvements to a facility well before a license proceeding. In the US, if a FERC license proceeding is imminent, it can influence its outcomes. Energy buyers can also leverage LIHI’s certification program to gain additional insight into the diversity of a project’s impacts.
More than a third of FERC hydropower licenses in the US will be up for renewal in the next 10 years. This is the ideal time to outline sustainability priorities and identify hydropower facilities that meet energy needs and improve environmental and social outcomes. Many projects already provide such services. With the right encouragement, others could integrate sustainability practices under their existing licenses or address provisions in an upcoming relicensing process. In essence, if a potential energy buyer requires sustainability, project owners will be incentivized to act, and long-term purchase agreements can provide the financial stability necessary to carry out improvements.
Note that of the nearly 100,000 dams in the US National Inventory of Dams, only about 3% have hydropower. Although dams writ large are responsible for significant impacts on species and their habitats, water quality, flows, and access, thousands of non-powered dams that serve useful purposes (and thus are not contenders for removal) could produce enough energy to support millions of homes if retrofitted with hydropower.
Globally, new dams are being considered for construction to address changing rain patterns driven by climate change. These dams have the potential for hydropower, and those potential hydropower projects could be designed to safeguard the environment and use new technology that protects migrating fish. However, developers need incentives to adopt designs that are (or may be) more expensive in the short term but avert the costs of harmful externalities in the long term.
[For more from the authors on this topic, see: “Energy Procurement: A Case for Holistic Decision-Making.”]
