"The old, reliable technology has experienced slow growth, but industry leaders see opportunities ahead."
"The International Energy Agency’s executive director has called hydropower a “forgotten giant,” and has urged governments to do more to remember it. U.S. President Donald Trump has said hydropower is “fantastic,” a sharp contrast to his disdain for wind and solar.
But federal energy data shows that U.S. hydropower output has been nearly flat while other sources are growing.
Last year, electricity generation from hydroelectric dams was up 1.7 percent from the prior year, according to the Energy Information Administration. The plants use the force of water to spin turbines and produce electricity.
Hydropower was long the country’s leading source of renewable energy, but it was passed in 2019 by wind and in 2025 by utility-scale solar. It’s still significant, though, with 5.6 percent of U.S. electricity generation. It’s the top electricity source in Washington state and Oregon and an important part of the mix in many other states."
