When we turn on the tap for a glass of water before bed, or sleepily hop in the shower to get ourselves ready for another day, we may, if we are feeling reflective, give a moment’s thought to the wonder and privilege of running water delivered to our homes, schools, businesses, and just about every other place we frequent.
But we rarely, if ever, spare a second to think about water when we flip a light switch or turn on a television. And yet National Hydropower Day, sponsored by the National Hydro Association, reminds us that hydropower has been producing clean, renewable electricity for Americans for decades. In fact, the first hydroelectric dam, paired with one of Thomas Edison’s electric generators, entered operation in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1882.
And a trip to the American Southwest is never complete without a visit to the Hoover Dam. This modern engineering marvel produces 4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, consumed by over 1.3 million residents of Nevada, Arizona and California.
But hydropower can be found all over the country, with nearly 80 GW of installed capacity in the United States as of 2023. From the Grand Coulee Dam spanning the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest to the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant in upstate New York, American hydroelectricity powers tens of millions of homes and businesses each year, representing almost a quarter of all renewable electricity produced and consumed in the country. Â
Hydro may be very old technology – the first water wheels may have been operating as early as 4,000 B.C. – but that doesn’t mean the industry isn’t developing new ways of turning the flow of water into rivers of electrons. Newer forms of hydro generation include tidal power, wave power and pumped storage.
If you are interested in learning how you can support hydropower and other forms of renewable energy, start by finding out if you live in one of the many states that allow you to select an energy supplier. You can explore the options available in your state by visiting the Retail Energy Supply Association’s Energy Choice 101 webpage. Many suppliers offer products based explicitly on hydropower and other types of clean electricity.
So the next time you sip a refreshing glass of H2O or turn on the lights in the kitchen, remember that water doesn’t just sustain all life on Earth; it helps power our society as it has for many decades and will continue to do so for years to come.