By Kevin Fink
Sullivan counsel recently participated in the “Grid Scale Energy Storage Summit,” part of the expansive Hydrovision International conference held at the end of June in Charlotte, North Carolina. For the first time on an international scale, the Summit brought together both energy storage and hydropower experts from around the world for the purpose of debating, among other things, the future role of hydropower in the mix of energy storage options.
Topics: Energy Storage, Renewable Energy, FERC, hydropower
OVERVIEW
The United States has produced clean, renewable electricity from hydropower for more than 100 years. Today there are approximately 2,500 domestic dams and pumped-storage facilities that provide roughly 100 gigawatts (“GW”) of electricity. In addition, there are more than 80,000 non-powered dams, i.e., existing structures that could produce power, with the potential capacity of 12 GW. New England’s non-powered dams potential capacity is 243 mega watts (“MW”). Many of the 80,000 non-powered dams could be converted to produce hydropower at relatively low cost and within a relatively short timeframe. See U.S. Department of Energy, An Assessment of Energy Potential at Non-Powered Dams in the United States (2012).Topics: Energy Storage, Renewable Energy, Massachusetts, Low-head hydropower, FERC, hydropower
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