The National Hydropower Association (NHA) and other key hydro industry stakeholders have issued a joint statement with environmental and conservation stakeholders: the Joint Statement of Collaboration on U.S. Hydropower: Climate Solutions and Conservation Challenge. The statement represents an effort to coordinate key stakeholders around the goal of maximizing the climate and economic benefits of hydropower while mitigating the environmental impacts of dams in rivers and other waterways.
The parties to the statement, which include NHA, American Rivers, World Wildlife Fund, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and others, have identified seven areas for joint collaboration:
1. Accelerate Development of Hydropower Technologies and Practices to Improve Generation Efficiency, Environmental Performance, and Solar and Wind Integration
2. Advocate for Improved U.S. Dam Safety
3. Increase Basin-Scale Decision-Making and Access to River-Related Data
4. Improve the Measurement, Valuation of and Compensation for Hydropower Flexibility and Reliability Services and Support for Enhanced Environmental Performance
5. Advance Effective River Restoration through Improved Off-Site Mitigation Strategies
6. Improve Federal Hydropower Licensing, Relicensing, and License Surrender Processes
7. Advocate for Increased Funding for U.S. Dam Rehabilitation, Retrofits and Removals
A PDF of the full statement is available here, and New York Times coverage of the development (“Environmentalists and Dam Operators, at War for Years, Start Making Peace,” published October 13, 2020) is available here.