To watch a video of Senator Manchin’s opening remarks, please click here.

To watch a video of Senator Manchin’s questioning, please click here.

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to examine the opportunities and challenges for maintaining existing hydropower capacity, expanding hydropower at non-powered dams, and increasing pumped storage hydropower. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Committee, highlighted the importance of hydropower to our nation’s all-of-the-above energy portfolio and grid reliability.

“Hydropower is one of the oldest sources of power generation in the country, and until 2019, it was also the largest source of renewable generation. In 2020, hydropower provided over 7% of the total U.S. electricity generation, coming in fifth behind natural gas, nuclear, coal, and wind. Unlike most other renewable energy resources, hydropower generation provides baseload electricity. It’s also flexible which means that the generation capacity is available when we need it, and it has the ability to respond to changing grid conditions and adjust output accordingly. That makes hydropower unique and valuable for maintaining grid reliability as more intermittent resources come online,” Chairman Manchin said.

During the hearing, Chairman Manchin and the witnesses discussed the challenges and delays that the permitting process currently faces that limit private sector investment in hydropower – including in development of non-powered dams and new pumped storage systems.

“You’ve got so many ‘cooks in the kitchen’ – none of which have ultimate authority to issue permits. But there is tremendous interest in pumped storage. There are over 50 gigawatts in the pipeline. But no new pumped storage has been built in over 20 years in this country. We’re not going to be able to keep the lights on with just wind, solar, or batteries; we need long duration energy storage, which is what pumped storage is so great at providing,” said Mr. Malcolm Woolf, President and CEO, National Hydropower Association.

“What recommendations do you have for how we can accelerate this?” asked Chairman Manchin.

“One of the most significant [recommendations] is that for those facilities that don’t have significant environmental issues, particularly closed-loop or off-river pumped storage facilities where they aren’t having an environmental impact or non-powered dams where the existing infrastructure already exists, we should have a streamlined permitting process – something within two years. You should not need a seven- or ten-year process where you don’t have those environmental impacts… We need to have the permit conditions limited to things that are directly related to the facility. Tax incentives [also allow] them to compete with other zero-carbon technologies,” said Mr. Woolf.

Mr. Woolf went on to highlight steps Congress can take to alleviate delays and expand hydropower opportunities, including streamlining the decision-making process for permits.

The hearing featured witnesses from the U.S. Department of Energy, Bureau of Reclamation, National Hydropower Association and Northwest Public Power Association. To read their testimony click here.

To watch the hearing in full, please click here.

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