Assessing US hydro potential and development needs

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), USA, is updating and reviewing the contribution that hydropower technologies can contribute to US renewable energy supply in the near-term, intermediate-term, and long-term potential. This covers: conventional hydro plants; pumped storage; emerging technologies which exploit the energy of rivers, man-made channels (hydrokinetic), and ocean technologies; and, wave, current and tidal kinetic hydropower. How each technology can contribute is documented, research required to achieve the results are discussed, and targeted economic incentives that can spur the deployment of the production are reviewed.