Beyond clean energy: The many benefits of hydropower
June 25, 2025
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Hydropower and dam projects can generate a renewable and reliable energy supply for communities in need. But they offer much more beyond that.
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A sustainable future for the planet and its people depends on reducing carbon emissions and generating cleaner energy. But there is a challenge. The demand for electricity is increasing. This is due to the electrification of almost everything, from vehicles and industry to buildings and—now—data centers.
But it’s not just about electrification in the developed world. We also want to provide a better life for the millions of people on Earth still living without a reliable supply of energy.
This demand for more energy—combined with the need to address the impacts of climate change—is driving more development of renewables. Much of the attention is on wind, solar, and battery energy storage systems. Hydroelectric power is often overlooked. And pumped storage hydropower, the best proven way to store large amounts of clean energy, is typically forgotten.
Energy storage is critical for the energy transition. It’s needed for times when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. It is our best way to keep the electric grid safe and reliable. After all, we are already seeing examples around the world where too much intermittent energy is resulting in outages.
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No other renewable energy source comes close to providing as many long-term benefits as hydropower.
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When looking at renewable options, the many benefits of hydropower and dam projects are almost always overlooked. We now have decades of experience with dams and hydropower. This has led to new standards for sustainable development and evolving approaches to minimize any negative impacts. In fact, in some cases these projects can even improve flow regimes and environmental conditions, as well as provide other benefits. Providing the sorely needed clean energy is just the beginning. Hydropower and pumped storage projects also have a multiplier effect on electricity generation. They enable more intermittent renewables like wind and solar to be connected to the electric grid than would otherwise be possible.
There are many benefits of hydropower and dam projects. These can be grouped into three key categories: the reservoir, the water, and the power. Below, I’ll run through some of the positive impacts that hydropower projects offer. And that’s beyond their capacity to produce clean, renewable energy.
The many benefits of hydropower: Enjoying the reservoir
One of the primary features of any hydropower and dam project is the reservoir. A reservoir is the large body of water behind a dam that stores the potential energy of water and uses it for energy generation when needed. A pumped storage hydropower facility uses two reservoirs—one upper and one lower—to store energy for use during times of peak demand. But I’ll get to that later.
The reservoirs that are part of hydropower projects can and do serve many purposes. They can store water for drinking, irrigation, and community use. But they can also help us mitigate climate-related challenges like floods and droughts. For example, during times of extreme rainfall and wet-weather events, reservoirs can absorb and store water for later release. This helps prevent that water from overwhelming nearby communities, infrastructure, or natural ecosystems. Conversely, during dry seasons and times of drought, water can be released from reservoirs to support both people’s needs and the environment.
But there are other features of reservoirs that might come as a surprise, such as recreational and commercial uses. In short, reservoirs can be used for fun. Plenty of hydropower reservoirs are used for things like boating, swimming, and fishing. Some of the well-known hydropower reservoirs offering great recreation are large, like Lake Powell and Lake Mead. But there are many smaller reservoirs throughout the country that are great recreational spots. Many are likely not far from where you are. Just a short distance from a summer place we visit in Connecticut are Candlewood Lake, Hop Brook Lake, and even Falls Village Hydro, which offers white water rafting and kayaking. My family and I have enjoyed paddleboarding on reservoirs with our dogs on more than one occasion. And reservoirs also support businesses and jobs. These can include uses like marinas, tourism, and leisure activities. In some cases, they also offer desirable waterfront housing.
All of what I listed above can contribute to direct and indirect economic benefits for the surrounding area. A project’s recreational benefits alone can be valued in the millions of dollars a year. For example, Oregon State University estimates that the 13 federal reservoirs in the Willamette River Basin generate around $5 million in recreational benefits each year. They believe that figure could rise to $12 million by the end of the century. Another study of just one reservoir in Wisconsin shows more than $6.5 million of annual value to residents and visitors.
Now that we’ve reviewed some of the benefits the reservoir can offer us, let’s look at what we can do with the water beyond producing clean energy.
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Plenty of hydropower reservoirs are used for things like boating, swimming, and fishing. It is one of the “hidden” benefits of hydropower.
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The many benefits of hydropower: Leveraging the water
A primary use of water at hydropower dams is, of course, to flow through turbines and generate electricity. But only about 3 percent of the dams in the US are used to generate electricity. The dams currently without hydropower are an opportunity to generate clean, renewable energy using existing infrastructure without building any new dams. A great example of this is the Red Rock Dam on the Des Moines River near Pella, Iowa. It was originally built in the 1960s for flood control and recreation. But after the Red Rock Hydroelectric Project, it can now generate 55 megawatts of renewable energy for generations to come.
For pumped storage projects, which have two reservoirs, water is released during times of peak electricity demand and pumped back up during times when there is too much electricity being generated. For example, this can happen in the middle of a sunny day when more electricity is being produced from solar than needed.
For hydropower and dam facilities, we can make use of water in other ways as well. I’ve already talked about how nearby communities can make use of the water during times of need, like during a drought. But it also has other uses. For example, the water can be used to provide cooling water to support conventional thermal power plants, manufacturing and industrial facilities, or even nuclear power plants. This is true for both the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River. Water can also be used in rural areas that might not be connected to the larger water infrastructure. This is especially true for the farming, ranching, and agriculture sectors that are often in remote regions.
Perhaps even more important lately, reservoirs can provide water during emergencies like wildfires. We recently saw how critical this infrastructure is during the tragic wildfires in California. In that instance, some reservoirs were out of operation, and it contributed to water shortfalls in the response efforts. In other cases, planes and helicopters used the water stored in reservoirs to combat the fires. In the future, I expect that we will use hydropower and dam facilities more effectively in times of wildfire emergencies.
As you can see, having a large resource of water on standby can offer many benefits. It can also help to keep our communities healthy and safe. Now, let’s look at one of the key benefits of hydropower and dam facilities: renewable energy. More specifically, let’s review pumped storage hydropower projects. They can generate energy, store energy, and enable the integration of even more renewables.
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Hydropower and dam reservoirs can provide water for the farming, ranching, and agriculture sectors that are often located in remote regions.
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The many benefits of hydropower: Generating the power
As I said earlier, traditional hydroelectric generation uses the flow of water through turbines to make electricity. In this scheme, the water flows from upstream to downstream in one direction, taking advantage of the natural flow. The energy is used in many ways. Most obviously, it helps power nearby homes, businesses, and communities.
But one of the most sought-after uses of hydropower today comes with pumped storage schemes. In fact, REGlobal estimates there are 67 proposed pumped storage projects in the US right now. That’s an increase of 43 percent since 2019.
Rather than leveraging the one-way flow of water like common hydro does, pumped storage hydropower transfers water within a closed circuit. These projects use two bodies of water that are close together but with a significant elevation difference. When the electrical grid requires more energy, water is released from the upper reservoir down to the lower reservoir, spinning turbines and generating power on its way. This is very similar to any hydropower facility. But with pumped storage, that water is pumped back up to the upper reservoir and used over and over again. It’s often referred to as a water battery. When other sources like solar or wind are producing excess energy that isn’t needed and the grid can’t handle (it would otherwise be lost), we can use that energy to pump water from the lower reservoir back up to the upper reservoir. And it’s stored there until needed.
This is one of the greatest benefits of pumped storage hydropower. It allows for more energy generation from intermittent renewables like solar and wind by maintaining an energy balance. Those types of renewables generate most of their energy during the day, when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. But we can’t control when that happens. Peak energy demand isn’t until the evening when people return home from work. The U.S. Energy Information Administration notes that energy consumption peaks around 5 PM or 6 PM in the summer months. That’s when most people consume energy to cook their dinner, cool their homes, or charge their electric vehicles in some cases. So solar produces most of its energy in the middle of the day, while the energy is most needed in the morning, evening, and at night. This is referred to as the duck curve, and pumped storage can help us to overcome that challenge by providing up to 12 or more hours of energy storage and shifting that energy from when it's produced to when it's needed, integrating more reliable, renewable energy into our electrical grids.
" }Providing the sorely needed clean energy they produce is just the beginning. Hydropower and pumped storage projects also have a multiplier effect on electricity generation.
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But we can also use pumped storage hydropower for frequency and network control, helping to balance the grid to avoid overloads from sudden changes. For example, solar and wind production can fluctuate a lot and change rapidly with weather conditions, like when clouds or a storm suddenly roll in. An interesting fact about electricity? It has to be in perfect balance between supply and demand at all times. Otherwise, we have blackouts, grid overload, or failure. Pumped storage quickly adjusts to these changes and stabilizes the grid. That way, the power can be saved and used during times of peak energy demand to avoid brownouts and outages.
Pumped storage hydropower is the most effective way to store large amounts of energy. Here’s another fun fact. Pumped storage hydropower accounts for 96 percent of all electricity storage in the US. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “the US pumped storage hydropower fleet includes about 22 gigawatts of electricity-generating capacity and 550 gigawatt-hours of energy storage.” That’s enough energy to power more than 16 million homes for 8 to 12 hours—a typical generation cycle for pumped storage projects.
But even so, more storage is needed if we’re going to meet our carbon-reduction goals. The good news? We can achieve it without a lot of the critical minerals and metals that battery storage projects need. It’s my hope to see more and more facilities brought online in the coming years.
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Pumped storage hydropower is the most effective way to store large amounts of energy.
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Leveraging the many benefits of hydropower and dam projects
Hydropower and dam projects can and do serve many purposes. They are even more beneficial for society when we consider the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” They are at the core of the UN’s goals of food security and access to water and energy for all through the water-energy-food nexus, where hydropower can play a significant role. Plus, at a time when we are witnessing staffing shortages across the hydropower industry, particularly in the US, it’s important to recognize how beneficial these projects can be and how important it is to keep our existing hydropower projects operating.
Making the most of our planet’s precious natural resources is essential. Every project we work on should benefit the most people in a sustainable manner. It is key to responsible environmental stewardship for the generations of people that will come after us. The benefits of hydropower far outweigh other renewable energy sources when it comes to providing long-term benefits. The clean energy and additional benefits from these projects go a long way toward improving the quality of life for communities around the world.
So, the next time you visit your favorite lake or reservoir to go boating, swimming, or fishing, or just to relax and enjoy the tranquility, take a moment to think about the many benefits that hydropower provides. Not just clean, reliable, and renewable energy. But that and so much more.
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