Most American states have conventional hydroelectric facilities found in large dams built by the federal government. Many of the largest dams that generate hydroelectric power are found in the western United States. About half of all the hydroelectric energy produced in the states are concentrated in Washington, Oregon, and California. In the east, the biggest hydroelectric plants are found in New York and Alabama.
At the present time, most dams in America were not built to generate electricity but that may change in the future as we expand green energy of all kinds. A good example is found in Arizona, which is one of the top 10 states for EV ownership. It is also home to eleven hydroelectric dams that supply approximately five percent of the state’s electricity.
A Clear Solution
As the need for clean, environmentally friendly sources of electricity continues to grow and more Americans adopt electric vehicles, hydro power may lead the way according to energy futurist Josh Loughman. Josh is an Affiliate Global Futures Scholar at Arizona State University’s Global Futures Lab.
“Phoenix, where I am, is a rapidly growing city, so demand for electricity is growing and EVs are trending way up,” Loughman tells us. “At the same time, Phoenix is part of the Colorado River system that’s in a historic drought. Water scarcity is a big challenge, so there’s a really interesting history here of water-technology innovation, including hydro power. In fact, one of the very first federal (hydroelectric dams) in the country is Roosevelt Dam just outside Phoenix.”
Loughman suspects that all American cities will see a greater need more electricity to power plug-in hybrids and EVs and will be sourcing renewable energy to provide it. “Trading gasoline-powered cars for electric vehicles that get their energy from natural gas-powered electric plants doesn’t produce much gain from a climate perspective,” he imagines. “But if you’re powering electric vehicles with renewable energy, then you’re actually achieving decarbonization.”
The EV Tipping Point
According to recent surveys, America has reached the tipping point for EV mass adoption where five percent of all new car sales are fully electric. This is important as it marks the transition from early adopters to mass market adoption. In fact, EV adoption could be up to 25 percent of all new car sales this year. The trend goes hand in hand with improved charging infrastructure, falling battery costs, more available models, and overall public awareness.
We need to modernize the electric grid now as we transition to a world filled with electric cars. So says Justin Trudell, president and CEO of FirstLight Power, a clean energy company with plants in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Canada. “EV adoption is driving the need for more megawatts on the grid,” he confides. “When you pair that with states’ aggressive decarbonization goals, it’s clear that more electricity needs to come from clean sources.”
Trudell believes that hydroelectric power is especially promising. In 2022 FirstLight installed bidirectional EV charging stations at Northfield Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage Station in Northfield, Massachusetts. It is the largest energy storage facility in New England.
Described as “a giant water battery”, the facility is composed of a manmade dam atop a mountain that stores pumped water from the Connecticut River. When the water is released back into the river, it flows down through turbine generators to create clean electricity.
“The beautiful thing about hydro is that it is a stable, 24/7 source of clean energy,” Trudell says. “That makes it a great enabler of intermittent renewables. Because it provides a base load of clean energy, I can bring that clean hydro onto the grid when the sun isn’t shining or when the wind isn’t blowing.”
Clean, reliable hydroelectric power may well be the source to fuel our future green cars.
