Globally Hydropower Industry Capacity is Expected to Grow to 1,525 GW by 2020

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Increasing Demand for Renewable Energy over Conventional Energy is Expected to Drive Global Hydropower Industry

Global Hydropower Market capacity is expected to grow to 1,525 GW by 2020. Although fossil fuels continue to be the most popular form of generating electricity, their reserves are fast depleting. Moreover, this type is associated with environmental damage. This has contributed to the development of alternative energy sources such as hydropower.

Hydropower does not lead emit greenhouse gases and toxic waste. It is one of the cheapest sources and offers a huge cost advantage to vendors. The IEA (International Energy Agency) foresees use to hydropower to reduce carbon emissions by about one billion tones, by 2050.

Flowing water is readily available due to the natural phenomena of rainfall and snow. Based on the requirement, turbines are conveniently adjusted to control the flow of water. These factors are expected to prove favorable for market growth. A significant part of this growth would be through run-of-river and pumped storage hydropower projects.

Hydropower plants vary in generation capacity. They can be categorized into pico-hydro, micro, small, & large. Pico and micro have a capacity of less than 100 KW. While small encompass those with capacities between 100 KW to 30 MW, large include those having installed capacity of over 30 MW.

The worldwide hydropower market is split according to applications and geographies. Applications consist of residential, industrial, & commercial. Industrial applications held about 41% of the total installed capacity in 2012. They would account for 695 GW of hydropower by 2020.