By Joanna Allhands
Hydropower has no direct substitute.
It doesn’t emit the greenhouse gases of coal or natural gas.
It’s available any time, unlike solar and wind, to meet spikes in demand.
And it’s cheap.
But the outlook for hydropower — a source that fills up to half of some Arizona irrigation and electrical districts’ power needs — is growing increasingly grim.
Lake Powell could be too low to generate any electricity in more than half the years through 2060.
And Lake Mead’s capacity could fall to a third of what it is now by spring. It’s forecast to remain there most of the time through 2039.
Hydropower costs could skyrocket
Water levels are plummeting at the nation’s two largest reservoirs, and that is making hydropower more expensive to generate.
If production falls too much, it could quickly become among the most expensive forms of energy, potentially forcing buyers to walk away from their long-term contracts.
That’s a problem for federal officials, which rely on hydropower revenue to operate and maintain the lakes.
And it’s a problem for farmers, which depend on affordable power to pump and deliver water for irrigation.
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