Hydropower and Major Dam Projects

Hydropower is the largest single source of renewable electricity worldwide, supplying roughly 14 to 15 percent of global generation by converting the gravitational energy of falling or flowing water into electricity through turbines, typically at large dams that also provide flood control, irrigation storage, and, in many cases, navigation benefits. Because it requires suitable topography, adequate and reliable river flow, and substantial upfront capital, hydropower's contribution to national electricity supply varies enormously, from countries such as Norway and Paraguay that derive nearly all of their electricity from it to countries with little exploitable river capacity that rely on it hardly at all.