Gov. Ed Rendell visited Voith Hydro today to say that hydropower has the potential for generating clean energy and creating jobs for Pennsylvania and the nation.
According to the study released today by the National Hydropower Association, the U.S. hydropower industry could install between 23,000 megawatts and 60,000 megawatts of additional capacity by 2025, or enough to generate electricity for 31 million additional homes. The study also estimates that the installation of this amount of capacity could create between 230,000 and 700,000 new jobs.
There are 80,000 dams in the United States and only 3% are used to produce hydropower.
Canada is one of the top producers of hydro power in world with some provinces extracting over 90% of their electrical needs from falling water. A market perfect for electric cars!
Not all these dams are suited to produce power, but if the dam is already built the environmental impact is already in existence. York companies like Voith and American Hydro use technology to produce highly efficient runners that can extract efficiencies into the high 90% and are more fish friendly than equipment made in the past.
You have to wonder, if there were an increase in the mandate for renewable energy or if new technologies were invented to harness even 25% of the of the 97% of the non- generating dams, how much renewable energy we could produce from falling water.
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