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Value to the Nation: Hydropower Fast Facts

VTN Fast Facts mapUSACE is the largest owner and operator of hydroelectric power plants in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world. The 75 USACE plants have a total installed capacity of approximately 23,900 megawatts (MW), with approximately 60 percent located in the Pacific Northwest. This capability generates about 25 percent of the nation's hydroelectric power and represents approximately 3 percent of the nation's total electric-generating capacity.

Hydropower Fast Facts Reports

Hydropower Fast Facts Reports can be selected by national, project, state, USACE Division, or USACE District level. Select 2021 Hydropower Fast Facts Reports from the USACE Digital Library collections:

You can select an individual report, or go to a collection of reports. For a list of all reports in a collection, for example, in the project report collection, select "All Project Reports".

Hydropower Fast Facts Archive

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 2020 Hydropower Fast Facts


Select 2020 Hydropower Fast Facts Reports from the USACE Digital Library collections:

You can select an individual report, or go to a collection of reports. For a list of all reports in a collection, for example, in the project report collection, select "All Project Reports".

How these numbers were calculated.

 2019 Hydropower Fast Facts


Select 2019 Hydropower Fast Facts Reports from the USACE Digital Library collections:

You can select an individual report, or go to a collection of reports. For a list of all reports in a collection, for example, in the project report collection, select "All Project Reports".

How these numbers were calculated.

 2018 Hydropower Fast Facts


Select 2018 Hydropower Fast Facts Reports from the USACE Digital Library collections:

You can select an individual report, or go to a collection of reports. For a list of all reports in a collection, for example, in the project report collection, select "All Project Reports".

How these numbers were calculated.

 2017 Hydropower Fast Facts


Select 2017 Hydropower Fast Facts Reports from the USACE Digital Library collections:

You can select an individual report, or go to a collection of reports. For a list of all reports in a collection, for example, in the project report collection, select "All Project Reports".

How these numbers were calculated.

 2016 Hydropower Fast Facts


Select 2016 Hydropower Fast Facts Reports from the USACE Digital Library collections:

You can select an individual report, or go to a collection of reports. For a list of all reports in a collection, for example, in the project report collection, select "All Project Reports".

How these numbers were calculated.

More Information

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 Benefits in Perspective


The primary National Economic Development (NED) benefit of USACE hydropower efforts is the willingness to pay for hydropower output from USACE projects. For existing USACE hydropower capital stock, an estimate of replacement in kind is the most likely and most economical alternative. Accordingly, the replacement value of energy produced by USACE hydropower facilities is used as proxy for the willingness to pay for hydropower output from USACE projects. Energy replacement values illustrate the cost of energy from alternative generating resources used to replace lost hydropower generation from outages.

 

How these numbers were calculated


A 2015 USACE Hydropower Analysis Center study, Quantifying the Cost of Unit Outages Across the USACE Hydropower Facilities, developed an approach to simulate 15 years of historic average daily flow and reservoir elevations into hourly flow distributions by matching historical flows to current plant operations and turbine efficiencies. This study generated values for the energy produced from the USACE hydropower capital stock. The energy values are based on regional locational marginal prices (LMP) collected from a plant’s most relevant energy market. The NED benefits accruing to USACE hydropower investments are computed by summing the average energy replacement values from each USACE project with generating capability. Values were adjusted for inflation in order to convert estimates to 2021 dollars. The FY 2021 NED hydropower benefit estimate is $2.82 billion.

Sources of Data

USACE Hydropower Analysis Center, 2015. Quantifying the Cost of Unit Outages across the USACE Hydropower Facilities.

  • FY 2021 Fast Facts
    • USACE Hydropower Analysis Center (2015). Quantifying the Cost of Unit Outages across the USACE Hydropower Facilities.
    • Values were adjusted for inflation in order to convert estimates to 2021 dollars.
  • FY 2020 Fast Facts
    • USACE Hydropower Analysis Center (2015). Quantifying the Cost of Unit Outages across the USACE Hydropower Facilities.
    • Values were adjusted for inflation in order to convert estimates to 2020 dollars.
  • FY 2019 Fast Facts
    • USACE Hydropower Analysis Center (2015). Quantifying the Cost of Unit Outages across the USACE Hydropower Facilities.
    • Values were adjusted for inflation in order to convert estimates to 2019 dollars.
  • FY 2018 Fast Facts
    • USACE Hydropower Analysis Center (2015). Quantifying the Cost of Unit Outages across the USACE Hydropower Facilities.
    • Values were adjusted for inflation in order to convert estimates to 2018 dollars.
  • FY 2017 Fast Facts
    • USACE Hydropower Analysis Center (2015). Quantifying the Cost of Unit Outages across the USACE Hydropower Facilities.
    • Values were adjusted for inflation in order to convert estimates to 2017 dollars.