Government Agencies Sign Hydropower Memorandum
The U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, have signed a memorandum of understanding to help promote the development of hydropower. While hydropower is the nations largest source of renewable energy, the capacity hasn’t increased at a significant rate in decades.
The U.S. government owns the largest sector of hydropower generation and it should be taking full advantage of this asset. Included in the memorandum are goals that will help identify future sites for sustainable hydropower, upgrades to the existing projects and ways to promote new hydropower technologies.
It also calls for better cooperation between agencies and an increased emphasis on hydropower production practices that are more environmentally friendly. By signing the memorandum, the federal agencies have officially agreed to start focusing on increasing power generation of federally owned plants and explore other opportunities for new developments.
“While hydropower is the largest source of renewable electricity in the nation, hydropower capacity has not increased significantly in decades,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “As the single largest owner of hydropower generation in the United States, it is important for the federal government to tap this valuable asset so it can continue to contribute to our clean energy portfolio and energy security.”