Climate change to have dramatic impact on hydropower

February 4, 2010 | Dams & Dam Removal, Global Warming, Restoring Rivers

Amy Souers Kober
Senior Director of Communications

Since our founding, American Rivers has been the leading voice protecting rivers from the adverse impacts of hydropower dams. We have spearheaded historic agreements to improve the operations of dams on rivers like the Deschutes, and we brought the idea of removing outdated dams into the mainstream.

So it comes as no surprise that we haven’t always seen eye to eye with the National Hydropower Association (NHA). But we recently partnered with NHA to host a Climate Change Workshop in Washington, DC because no matter what you think about state of the science, one thing is certain – climate change is going to have a big impact on hydropower dams and they way they affect our rivers.

Scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the Scripps Institute for Oceanography, the Rand Corporation, UC Davis, and the Stockholm Environment Institute showed that we can expect climate change to dramatically alter air temperatures and the timing, amount, and intensity of rain and snowfall. These changes will affect hydropower operations and the health of our rivers significantly.

The presenters also provided case studies demonstrating how various tools had been applied to long term decisions across the US, and how decision-makers can make valuable use of climate projections and manage the uncertainty of data.

Conservation groups and hydropower industry representatives agreed that it is time to consider climate change science in hydropower dam management decisions and committed to explore how in the near future.

Hydropower dams will continue to play a role in our nation’s energy portfolio. But it will take all interests to determine how best to respond to the climate changes coming our way to protect the invaluable river benefits we all rely on.

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