Reinvigorating Hydropower

Steve, as you're probably aware "renewable" is an arbitrary marketing term without basis in physics. In California, it's useful for promoting wind and solar power while denying nuclear energy its rightful place in meeting carbon goals.

What you may not know is that large hydropower is not renewable in California, either. That's right - rainwater and snowmelt that feeds mountain streams, that flows downhill to reservoirs, using energy derived only from the sun, has been deemed non-renewable by the same financial interests that seek to shut down nuclear plants - solar, wind, and natural gas.

Without hesitation, those who understand the threat of climate change support both hydropower and nuclear energy, They know that in Brazil 77% of electricity is produced by hydropower without any carbon emissions; they know in France 75% of electricity is produced by carbon-free nuclear energy. They know the bulk of money that changes hands in energy circles, however, comes not from sales of electricity but of the fuel and/or machinery used to generate it. Hydropower and nuclear, despite large initial investments, generate lots and lots of clean energy thereafter requiring little (or none) of either.

"With the adoption of equitable and smart policies...hydropower provides the best generation pathway to an affordable, reliable and clean electric power system necessary to accomplish deep, economy-wide decarbonization."

Of primary importance is the need to distinguish equitable and smart policies for economic growth from those needed to fight climate change. Policy that aims to increase jobs and consumption while protecting the environment, as does the "Green New Deal", is ultimately self-defeating.

Hydro Power is a great resource. In Switzerland and other European countries they use the power of water 3 to 5 times as it travels down mountains. It doesn't create deadly waste like Nuclear does and can even be stored and released as needed.  I live in Arizona which is a desert in a 20 year Mega drought. Yet the 7 large Hydro dams we have produce day and night and have for 100 years. I just wish they would upgrade them so they could produce 50% more energy.

     In FACT the Roosevelt Dam is celebrating 110 years of clean energy.  Remember this is in a desert !!!   Here is an article on their Hydro  https://blog.srpnet.com/srp-dam-quiz/ 

1.       Talk about horsepower! Which dam produces the most hydroelectricity? Horse Mesa Dam, which has three conventional hydroelectric generating units that can produce a total of 32,000 kilowatts (kW) and one pumped storage hydroelectric unit added in 1972 that can generate 97,000 kW.

2.       Which dam produces no hydroelectricity? Horseshoe Dam, which is on the Verde River and was built during World War II. It is the only earthen dam on the SRP system.

3.       Which dam was the first to be completed on the SRP system? Granite Reef Diversion Dam — Granite Reef Diversion Dam was a lifeline to Phoenix-area residents enduring the unusually wet years in the Valley during Roosevelt Dam construction. It was built in 1908 after the devastating collapse in 1905 of the rock-and-stick dam on the Arizona Canal.

4.       How was construction of the Roosevelt Dam funded? Landowners put their land up as collateral to secure a loan from the federal government — Land mortgaged to fund the dam obtained water rights that are still administered today as irrigation water delivered by SRP. Water rights belong to the land and transfer with the property.

5.       What year was Roosevelt Dam dedicated? 1911 — Completed in 1910, Roosevelt

Dam was dedicated on March 18, 1911, by former President Theodore Roosevelt.

6.       Before Roosevelt Dam could be built, a road leading to the remote dam site had to be built. That road was called: The Apache Trail

7.       The dam closest to Phoenix is: Granite Reef Diversion Dam — Granite Reef Diversion Dam is just 29 miles from the Valley and serves as the meeting point, or confluence, of the Verde and Salt rivers. Granite Reef diverts water to SRP’s northside and southside canals and has the ability to deliver water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP) into SRP’s canals using an underground, uphill interconnection.

8.       Which dam is on East Clear Creek and funnels water into the East Verde River? C.C. Cragin Dam — Water is pumped vertically 435 feet from C.C. Cragin Dam into a pipeline. It then flows 11 miles before emptying into the headwaters of the East Verde River.

9.       Which dam is not on the Salt River? Horseshoe Dam — Horseshoe Dam is named for the horseshoe-shaped bend in the Verde River at the dam site. Dams on the Salt River are: Roosevelt Dam, Horse Mesa Dam, Mormon Flat Dam, Stewart Mountain Dam and Granite Reef Diversion Dam

10.   Which of these dams is not on the Verde River? C.C. Cragin Dam (formerly known as Blue Ridge Reservoir) — C.C. Cragin Dam, formerly known as Blue Ridge Reservoir, was renamed in 2004 after SRP's general superintendent in the 1920s and 1930s. Cragin is remembered for his vision of using SRP's water management system to generate hydroelectric power. He was responsible for investigating sites on the Salt River that became Mormon Flat, Horse Mesa and Stewart Mountain dams.