Global hydropower industry- statistics & facts
Harnessing the kinetic energy of flowing water, hydropower has established itself as a reliable source of renewable energy, not only does hydropower account for over one third of the total installed renewable capacity worldwide, it also plays a vital role in supporting agriculture and managing water resources. Despite its many advantages, hydropower is not without controversy due to environmental concerns, particularly regarding the disruption of aquatic ecosystems and alterations to natural river flows.
In summary, hydropower offers significant benefits, but its future development will need to carefully consider both its energy potential and the environmental implications, ensuring a balanced approach to sustainable energy production.
Hydropower generation and consumption
Hydroelectric energy production has increased to almost 4.5 petawatt hours, with global hydropower consumption reaching 40.26 exajoules in 2021. Predictably, countries with the highest share of hydropower consumption are those with plenty of running water. In fact, hydropower is considered one of the cheapest sources of energy; after a facility’s construction and installation, harnessing the power of flowing water is essentially free. Additionally, the speed of running water can also be controlled through turbines to produce electricity on demand. China has the greatest hydropower generation of any country worldwide.Large versus small hydropower projects
Although hydropower is considered a renewable energy source, large hydropower dams can still be responsible for environmental problems such as disrupting and damaging aquatic ecosystems. Most new hydropower projects worldwide must undergo an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. Small hydropower technologies, are an alternative to large dam facilities, which garnered about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in funding in 2019. The small hydropower market size is expected to grow to some 2.6 billion U.S. dollars by 2030.In summary, hydropower offers significant benefits, but its future development will need to carefully consider both its energy potential and the environmental implications, ensuring a balanced approach to sustainable energy production.
