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ORNL scientists generate landmark DOE hydropower report

Posted at 5:08 pm April 27, 2015
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

2014 Hydropower Market Report Cover

The 2014 Hydropower Market Report provides comprehensive data and trends useful for industry and policymakers. (Submitted by ORNL)

 

For the first time, industry and policymakers have a comprehensive report detailing the U.S. hydropower fleet’s 2,198 plants that provide about 7 percent of the nation’s electricity.

The 98-page report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers Rocio Uria-Martinez, Patrick O’Connor, and Megan Johnson is a resource that describes key features of the nation’s hydro resources and systematically tracks trends that have influenced the industry in recent years.

“The people who make critical decisions about U.S. hydropower can now turn to one place to find information that has broad implications,” said Uria-Martinez, who noted that the existing fleet has been constructed over the course of an entire century. “Hydropower has a long history but also a promising future as it continues to grow and play a key role in the nation’s power system.”

People who access the report can easily search the database to make highly informed decisions that have a direct impact on the lives of potentially millions of people, Uria-Martinez said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: dams, DOE, electricity, Energy-Water Resource Systems Group, hydropower, hydropower fleet, Hydropower Market Report, hydropower plants, hydropower report, Megan Johnson, Nicole Samu and Connor Waldoch, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, ORNL, Patrick O'Connor, pumped storage hydropower, Rocio Uria-Martinez, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Department of Energy, Wind and Water Power Technologies Office

TVA breaks all-time record for power generation from its dams

Posted at 2:15 pm October 4, 2013
By Tennessee Valley Authority 2 Comments

Norris Dam

The Norris Dam in Anderson County can produce electricity for the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Photo courtesy TVA)

KNOXVILLE—More electricity was generated from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 29 hydroelectric dams in fiscal year 2013, which ended Sept. 30, than in any other year in the agency’s 80-year history.

The dams provided 18.5 million megawatt-hours of clean, renewable energy, breaking the previous record set in 1973 by 122,000 MWh. That is enough electricity to serve more than 1.2 million homes in the TVA service area for an entire year.

Above-average rain and runoff fueled the increase in hydro generation. The Tennessee Valley received almost 62 inches of rainfall and almost 30 inches of runoff in fiscal 2013, which were 121 percent and 136 percent of normal, respectively. Runoff is the amount of rainfall that actually reaches streams and creeks, and eventually the Tennessee River, its tributaries, and TVA’s dams. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: Chip Pardee, dams, electricity, hydro generation, hydroelectric dams, hydroelectric power, John McCormick, rain, runoff, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA

TVA releasing dam water to reduce Tennessee River flooding

Posted at 4:30 pm July 10, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday said it is working to move large volumes of water—as much as one million gallons per second in some places—along the Tennessee River system to reduce potentially damaging flooding from record rainfall.

TVA said it prepared for this event by lowering reservoir levels on the main channel of the Tennessee River beginning the last week of June, leaving some areas below normal for this time of year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: Chuck Bach, dams, flooding, rain, rainfall, reservoir, runoff, Tennessee River, Tennessee Valley, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, TVA River Operations, water

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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