Factsheet – Hydropower

The factsheet examines the potential and risks of hydropower, including reservoir-based, run-of-river, and pumped-storage hydropower (PSH). While acknowledging PSH's role in grid stability, it highlights that hydropower is becoming less competitive than wind and solar due to higher costs and long construction timelines. The document details severe negative impacts on biodiversity, human rights, and the climate, specifically noting methane emissions from reservoirs. It concludes that new hydropower projects should be strictly conditioned on robust standards, with a preference for upgrading existing infrastructure over building new dams, particularly in Europe.

• Under the IEA's 'Net Zero Emissions by 2050' (NZE) scenario, hydropower production is projected to double between 2022 and 2050, with installed capacity increasing from 1,392 GW to 2,612 GW.
• Hydropower's share of the global electricity mix is expected to decline from 15% currently to approximately 11% by 2050 in the NZE scenario, as wind and solar deployment accelerates.
• Hydropower is becoming less economically competitive than wind and solar; in 2022, the global weighted average LCOE for new hydropower was US$0.061/kWh, compared to US$0.049/kWh for utility-scale solar PV and US$0.033/kWh for onshore wind.
• Climate change is actively impairing hydropower output through droughts and extreme precipitation, leading to power rationing in regions such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, and China's Sichuan province.
• Hydropower reservoirs contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through the decomposition of organic matter; a study of 1,500 dams estimated average emissions of 173 kg of CO2 and 2.95 kg of CH4 per MWh produced.
• The development of hydropower has caused significant human rights violations, including the displacement of tens of millions of people and the repression of opponents.
• Reclaim Finance recommends that no new hydropower be developed in Europe, suggesting that capacity increases should rely exclusively on refitting and upgrading existing plants.

APA

Reclaim Finance (2024). Factsheet – Hydropower. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FACTSHEET-Hydropower-1.pdf

Chicago

Reclaim Finance. Factsheet – Hydropower. 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FACTSHEET-Hydropower-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Reclaim Finance |title=Factsheet – Hydropower |date=January 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FACTSHEET-Hydropower-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reclaimfinance2024factsheet, author = {{Reclaim Finance}}, title = {{Factsheet – Hydropower}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FACTSHEET-Hydropower-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }