Statistics report
World Energy Balances: Overview
Complete energy balances for over 180 countries and regions
Hydropower
Hydropower is expected to remain the world’s largest source of renewable electricity generation and play a critical role in decarbonising the power system and improving system flexibility.
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Hydropower is a mature technology, yet it continues to evolve. Reservoir hydropower plants and pumped storage plants are particularly suited to providing system flexibility, while run-of-the river hydropower plants are themselves variable according to current or seasonal weather conditions.
Run-of-river hydropower plants harness energy for electricity production mainly from the available flow of the river. These plants may include short-term storage or "pondage", allowing for some hourly or daily flexibility but they usually have substantial seasonal and yearly variations.
Reservoir hydropower plants rely on stored water in a reservoir. This provides the flexibility to generate electricity on demand and reduces dependence on the variability of inflows. Very large reservoirs can retain months or even years of average inflows and can also provide flood protection and irrigation services.
Pumped storage plants use water that is pumped from a lower reservoir into an upper reservoir when electricity supply exceeds demand or can be generated at low cost. When demand exceeds instantaneous electricity generation and electricity has a high value, water is released to flow back from the upper reservoir through turbines to generate electricity. Pumped storage currently represents the overwhelming majority of on-grid electricity storage.
Run-of-river hydropower plants harness energy for electricity production mainly from the available flow of the river. These plants may include short-term storage or "pondage", allowing for some hourly or daily flexibility but they usually have substantial seasonal and yearly variations.
Reservoir hydropower plants rely on stored water in a reservoir. This provides the flexibility to generate electricity on demand and reduces dependence on the variability of inflows. Very large reservoirs can retain months or even years of average inflows and can also provide flood protection and irrigation services.
Pumped storage plants use water that is pumped from a lower reservoir into an upper reservoir when electricity supply exceeds demand or can be generated at low cost. When demand exceeds instantaneous electricity generation and electricity has a high value, water is released to flow back from the upper reservoir through turbines to generate electricity. Pumped storage currently represents the overwhelming majority of on-grid electricity storage.
Last updated Aug 28, 2020
Key findings
Global hydropower capacity additions, 2018-2021
OpenHydropower capacity additions fell to the lowest level since 2001
Global net additions of hydropower fell to 12.7 GW in 2019, the lowest level recorded since 2001. This is due to the continued slowdown in China, the country that has led global hydropower growth since 1996. Development has slowed significantly in China since 2013, as costs have increased due to resource availability and social acceptance issues. Annual additions are expected to increase in 2020 and further in 2021 largely due to the development of two mega projects in China: Wudongde (10 GW) and Bhaetan (16 GW).
Hydropower generation in the Sustainable Development Scenario, 2000-2030
OpenHydropower is not fully on track with the Sustainable Development Scenario
Hydropower generation is estimated to have increased by over 2% in 2019 owing to continued recovery from drought in Latin America as well as strong capacity expansion and good water availability in China. However, capacity additions overall declined for the fifth consecutive year, putting this technology off track with the SDS, which requires continuous growth in newly built capacity to maintain an average generation increase of 3% per year through 2030.
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Climate Change Impacts on African Hydropower
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Hydropwer is the largest source of renewable electricity in the world and it is particularly suited to providing system flexibility. The Hydropower TCP is a global platform for advancing hydropower technology, encouraging the sustainable use of water resources for the development and management of hydropower.
