Hydropower Could Employ One Million Americans by 2025

A recent report finds that the United States has the potential to create up to 700,000 American jobs by installing 60,000 Megawatts (MW) of clean, reliable hydropower by 2025. Currently, the U.S. hydropower industry supplies seven percent of our electricity and employs 200,000-300,000 people in project development and deployment, manufacturing, operations, and maintenance. With an accelerated expansion of the industry, hydropower could employ up to one million Americans by 2025.

Prepared by Navigant Consulting for the National Hydropower Association, the report compares two scenarios: business-as-usual (BAU), in which renewable resources generate 10 percent of U.S. electricity, and an accelerated case with a federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) of 25 percent by 2025. More than 400,000 MW of untapped hydropower resources exist in the United States – including existing dams with no hydropower facilities, hydropower dams with opportunities for efficiency improvements, sites conducive to pumped storage systems, and river and ocean sites appropriate for newer hydrokinetic technologies. Under BAU, the report projects the addition of 23,000 MW of capacity, or seven percent of total untapped hydropower potential, and the creation of 230,000 direct and indirect jobs. A 25 percent RES would boost installation to 60,000 MW, or 15 percent of untapped potential, and create 700,000 cumulative direct and indirect jobs.

 

Click here to download the executive summary of Job Creation Opportunities in Hydropower .

Click here to download the full report Job Creation Opportunities in Hydropower .

Click here for more information on hydropower jobs from the National Hydropower Association.