Leaders of the hydropower industry have sent a letter to US House leadership calling for provisions to the recently approved energy bill that would bring hydropower licensing into the 21st century.
In the letter, the National Hydropower Association (NHA), American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute, Large Public Power Council, and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association herald the bipartisan hydropower provisions in the bill as much needed but modest. However they call for the end of the ‘inaccurate rhetoric surrounding the hydropower provisions’ recently instigated by opponents of hydropower.
The bipartisan hydropower proposals are said to contain common sense solutions to improve the process by promoting predictability and coordination. They require timely decisions by regulators — all without narrowing or undermining the authorities of federal and state resources agencies and Indian tribes under federal environmental laws.
Despite the intent of the legislation, industry leaders believe that opponents of hydropower and its many public benefits continue to mischaracterise the scope and effect of the legislation. The letter explains that precisely because of the many environmental requirements that apply to hydropower, a modernised process is needed to:
• Improve collaboration among regulators.
• Facilitate coordination of environmental studies.
• Promote timely decision-making through a master schedule.
“If we are really serious about securing our nation’s clean energy future, it is time to end this rhetoric and work together to enact this proposal that will go far to address the real challenges of climate change" says Linda Church Ciocci, NHA Executive Director. "As an industry we are proud of our record. Unfortunately, opponents of this bill have lost sight of industry’s long track record of working with regulators in balancing our need for renewable energy while protecting environmental resources."
Today, it can take 10 years or more to license a hydropower facility while fossil fuel energy options, such as natural gas, can be permitted in a fraction of that time. NHA adds that investment into new and existing hydropower resources is severely handicapped by an outdated licensing process, in which conflicting priorities, overlapping and competing agency authorities, and deferred decision-making delay both project deployment and real environmental improvements.
