However, the western United States, where hydropower is most prevalent and provides much of the region’s electricity, is experiencing extreme drought conditions.19 The EIA projects that U.S. hydropower generation will decline by 14 percent in 2021 compared to 2020 due to drought conditions. Since 2011, annual hydropower generation in the United States has declined from over 300 billion kWh to 250 kWh (projected for 2021),20 impacting some plants so severely that they must temporarily suspend operations. In California, for example, the Edward Hyatt Power Plant had to shut down due to low water levels for the first time since it started
operations in 1967.21 As climate change is expected to exacerbate drought conditions over the next decades in many regions,22 hydropower plants providing blackstart capabilities may be impacted and their operations or capabilities could be diminished, making it necessary to have alternatives available.