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In 2021, hydroelectric power produced 31.5% of the total renewable electricity, and 6.3% of the total U.S. electricity. [2] According to the International Hydropower Association, the United States is the 3rd largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world in 2021 after Brazil and China. [3] Total installed capacity for 2020 was 102.8 GW.
The average cost of electricity from a hydro plant larger than 10 megawatts is 3 to 5 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour. [48] Hydroelectric plants have long economic lives, with some plants still in service after 50–100 years. [49] Operating labor cost is also usually low, as plants are automated and have few personnel on site during normal operation.
More recently, the construction of Three Gorges Dam and other similar projects throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America have generated considerable environmental and political debate. Currently, 48 percent of rivers and their hydro-ecological systems are affected by reservoirs and dams. [1]
Water is required for all life, but since ancient times, mankind has also employed this natural resource for other specifically human productive uses. Millennia ago man learned to navigate on water, learned to dam and divert it for irrigation and build aqueducts and canals to carry it where possible, and learned to convert the power of moving water to mechanical energy to perform work. [1]
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Since 2019, wind power has exceeded hydro as the largest renewable electricity source. [8] At 132 years old, the plant in Whiting, Wisconsin is the oldest power plant still running in the US. [57] The Grand Coulee Dam is the largest plant for hydro and in general in the US, and the fifth-largest hydro plant in the world.
Energy subsidies are measures that keep prices for customers below market levels, or for suppliers above market levels, or reduce costs for customers and suppliers. [4] [5] Energy subsidies may be direct cash transfers to suppliers, customers, or related bodies, as well as indirect support mechanisms, such as tax exemptions and rebates, price controls, trade restrictions, and limits on market ...
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