LICENSING HYDROPOWER PROJECTS: Better Time and Cost Data Needed to Reach Informed Decisions About Process Reforms

About 10 percent of all electricity production in the United States is generated by hydroelectric power hydropower projects. Federally owned and operated hydropower projects generate approximately half of this amount, while about 1,000 nonfederally owned and operated hydropower projects, which are licensed by the federal government, generate nearly all of the rest. Hydropower projects can include dams, reservoirs, stream diversion structures, powerhouses containing water-driven turbines, and transmission lines. Hydropower is an important part of the nations energy mix. It offers the benefits of a comparatively inexpensive, emission-free, renewable energy source, the quantity of which can be increased quickly in periods of peak demand. In addition, the reservoirs behind hydropower dams often provide other benefits, including recreation, flood control, irrigation, and a municipal water supply. However, hydropower projects can also have adverse effects on ecosystems and resources, including fish and wildlife. They can change the fundamental chemical, physical, and biological processes of river ecosystems by 1 fluctuating river levels and altering the timing of flows, 2 blocking the downstream flow of nutrients and sediments, 3 changing water temperatures and oxygen levels, 4 impeding fish from migrating up and down streams or killing them as they pass through turbines used to generate power, and 5 drying out sections of streams.