If you’ve been to the Cascades, Rocky Mountains, or Adirondacks, you’ve likely passed a hydropower dam or driven over one. Some are majestic, even breathtaking. Others you may not have even noticed. Dams are created for many different reasons. These reasons have evolved with technology over time, and they’ve been around for centuries. Ancient civilizations have been diverting and controlling water for millennia. The most famous example would likely be the Egyptians, who developed complex irrigation systems from the flow of the Nile River. Dams like these were introduced to Greek society sometime around the mid-fourth and third century B.C. in the form of watermills. These watermills were used as the name belies – for milling primarily and for metallurgy and agriculture. Many aqueducts and dams from antiquity still stand today, which is a testament to these civilizations’ incredible engineering know-how and craftsmanship.

Centuries later, a French engineer introduced the first turbine in 1827. Shortly after, in 1831, the first electric generator was born. In just 18 short years, the first modern water turbine, which is still widely used today, was introduced.

By 1882, the world’s first hydroelectric power plant was built in Appleton, Wisconsin, along the Fox River. This was the first real conventional impoundment dam with a spillway. Because of their use in agriculture, dams, especially impoundment dams, make it possible to farm in the arid part of the Western United States.

Impoundment Dams

Impoundment dams are the most common type of dams and are the structures you drive by that often leave you awestruck. That’s because they’re in some of the most beautiful places on Earth, tucked away in mountainsides, valleys, and canyons. Some are even tourist attractions. The most popular impoundment dam in the world resides right here in the U.S. It is the Hoover Dam, which sits on the Arizona-Nevada border, just southeast of Las Vegas. While it’s not the largest dam in height or the biggest in terms of electric capacity, it has made a name for itself as a popular destination for vacationers across the West. Commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and constructed during the Great Depression, the Hoover Dam is the most visited globally, with almost 7 million visitors a year.

Other famous impoundment dams include the Theodore Roosevelt Dam in Arizona, the Oroville Dam in California, and the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington.

How Do Impoundment Dams Work

Hydropower is created by converting flowing water into electricity. This happens when water flows down through a turbine, connected to a generator that can produce power as the turbine spins. That energy is pushed out through an interconnected electric transmission system consisting of poles and wires and transported to power stations to be distributed to our homes and businesses. It’s not only a cost-effective form of energy; it helps to solve intermittency and seasonal issues brought on by solar and wind. Not only is hydropower an excellent source of clean, baseload power, it can also be dispatched quickly to help avoid black or brownouts and any other service disruptions that might arise on large electric grids.

Since its foundation, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) has advocated for a balanced and thoughtful “all-of-the-above” energy and environmental policy that ensures price stability and reliability for consumers. CEA also supports actions that consider the needs of consumers, families, and businesses as we thoughtfully advance our nation towards a cleaner, more environmentally responsible lower-emissions energy future.

With the passage of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) in New York, CEA has focused its efforts with our members, the public, and policymakers on the hard work and real challenges that will be associated with implementing its sweeping and ambitious renewable energy and carbon reduction requirements in a manner that ensures that our grid remains reliable and won’t crush energy budgets.

The challenges facing New York are daunting. It has less than nine years to generate 70% of its electricity with renewable energy. Today, that number stands at roughly 25% percent, with the lion’s share of that renewable energy coming from New York’s existing hydropower. A significant portion of New York’s hydropower generation already comes from electricity imports approved decades ago through interconnects to help meet New Yorkers’ energy needs during days with high energy demand. In fact, hydro imports provide 20% of New York’s renewable power generation. According to federal data, only 7% of New York’s power in the fall of 2020 came from non-hydro renewables. By 2040, 100% of the state’s electricity must be zero-emission and 85% of the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors, including transportation, must be reduced by 2050. Making these requirements even more challenging is that starting in April 2021 Downstate is losing its largest source of emissions-free power that supplies nearly one-third of the New York City region’s electric needs.

Decarbonizing a state of 20 million people will be a monumental task without a basket of options and a clear-eyed understanding of the road ahead. To meet this ambitious future, the state has proposed:

• 6,000 MW of solar by 2025
• 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030
• 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035

These are all laudable and important objectives, but the horizons for the projects are far into the future and are not guaranteed. How do we get to where we need to be by 2030? The answer is becoming clearer – New York’s future energy portfolio needs to incorporate large-scale hydropower solutions to have a chance to meet its CLCPA requirements.

The quickest and most cost-effective way to bring on substantial supplies of emissions-free energy in the near term is by supporting additional transmission that can deliver additional hydropower to the state. That’s a guarantee for households they will have always-on power that can help integrate and optimize the other long-term renewable energy options and technologies.

We need to be realistic – there is no perfect solution to this challenge. New York is going to need it all, every energy and technology option that can help ease this transition being required by law. It can be done in a collaborative way that incorporates options like large-scale hydropower while supporting those most vulnerable in our communities.

We urge you to join CEA in this endeavor to help advocate for common-sense, solutions-oriented policies that are a true win for the bottom line, the grid, and the environment.

You can download the NY State of Play here.