By 2029, America’s electricity demand will increase by nearly 16%. In Idaho and surrounding states, it will increase by 30%. Across the West, factors like population growth, AI data center construction and advanced manufacturing will bolster our communities and nation, if energy supply matches demand. Increasing electricity production in the region will be crucial to meeting the moment.
To do so, we must maintain and expand reliable clean energy, including hydropower. In Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox has centered nuclear and geothermal in his ambitious plan to double the state’s power generation by 2030. These new sources of clean, reliable power are critical, but ignoring the importance of existing and new hydropower projects risks exposing our grid to unreliability and high prices.
In functional grids, dispatchable resources quickly increase electricity production when other sources are expensive or unavailable. Dispatchable hydropower provides this critical grid service, and the West is depending on it. In Idaho, hydropower accounts for 43% of the state’s electricity generation, and Utah has hydropower storage projects in the pipeline almost equal to the entire state’s total electric capacity.
But extremely high costs of licensing delays risk shutting down existing hydropower projects and preventing new ones. Relicensing takes seven to 10 years on average and can cost millions of dollars. According to a 2022 study, a third of hydropower operators are considering decommissioning their projects, with relicensing as a top concern. Long relicensing timelines also chill investment in new projects.
With hydropower accounting for such a large proportion of reliable energy supply, the loss of existing and potential plants could be disastrous for the West. Idaho and Utah have six projects in the relicensing process, with 1.2 gigawatts of capacity. That’s enough to power nearly a million households. This capacity would not be easily replaced with new, similarly reliable resources. Nationwide, natural gas turbine orders are delayed until 2029. New nuclear and geothermal plants can take decades to come online. And new solar and wind projects depend on dispatchable power like gas and hydropower for backup. To ensure our future of energy addition, policymakers must take ambitious steps to ensure existing hydropower plants remain online and that new projects are built.
Fortunately, Congress is considering bipartisan legislation that would do just that. The bill would provide federal incentives to invest in dams to improve infrastructure for energy and conservation. Eligible improvements include safety and security upgrades, fish passage infrastructure, and recreational projects. Each of these investments has decades of benefits and makes it easier for dam operators to relicense stations.
The bill would also provide federal support for dam removal where it makes sense. While hydropower provides emissions-free generation, some unpowered dams have little or no energy potential and offer few public benefits. Removing these impoundments can increase fish populations, improve river resiliency and expand recreation opportunities. Investment in dam improvements will ensure our existing hydropower resources stay online while also improving conservation outcomes. It’s a win-win.
Public investment will preserve existing hydropower capacity, but expansion depends on improving the licensing process. Utah has nine pumped storage hydropower plants in the project pipeline that could store almost the entire state’s current electricity capacity. Increased storage capacity will help Utah take advantage of its immense solar potential while maintaining grid reliability. Unlike conventional batteries, pumped storage doesn’t depend on Chinese supply chains — ensuring these projects are licensed quickly will decrease reliance on adversaries while catalyzing new energy resources.
The future of the West depends on energy addition. We cannot afford to lose our reliable hydropower generation or squander the opportunity for immense hydropower storage. America’s oldest clean electricity resource will undergird an energy-abundant future for the West — we must unleash it.