{"id":4583,"date":"2009-07-01T22:37:31","date_gmt":"2009-07-01T22:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=4583"},"modified":"2009-07-01T22:37:31","modified_gmt":"2009-07-01T22:37:31","slug":"obama-administration-announced-plans-to-expand-hydroelectric-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/obama-administration-announced-plans-to-expand-hydroelectric-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama Administration Announced Plans to Expand Hydroelectric Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

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July 1, 2009 – The U.S. Department of Energy<\/a><\/strong> Secretary Steven Chu<\/a><\/strong> announced today that up to $32 million dollars of Recovery Act<\/a><\/strong> funding will be used to expand the harvest of hydroelectric power<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s no one solution to the energy crisis, but hydro-power is clearly part of the solution and represents a major opportunity to create more clean energy jobs,\u201d said Secretary Chu.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The funding would be used on existing facilities in order to modernize the current infrastructures, increase efficiency and reduce the impact that the facilities have on the environment.\u00a0\u201cInvesting in our existing hydro-power infrastructure will strengthen our economy, reduce pollution and help us toward energy independence,\u201d said Chu. The announcement made today is designed to work on non-federal facilities; increasing energy output and environmental stewardship by supporting the deployment of turbines and control technologies.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the advantages to hydroelectric power (related: Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy<\/a>) noted by Secretary Chu is that the energy produced can be stored behind the dam. Being able to store energy on-site rather than consume it immediately<\/a> allows energy to be used when it is most needed. By improving the hydro infrastructure, we open the door to the utilization and economic viability of intermittent sources of renewable energy such as wind and solar. Secretary Chu supports the development of pumped storage technology in order to further take advantage of the said benefits.<\/p>\n

The funding, which comes under the Federal Recovery Act, will be competitively awarded to a variety of non-federal facilities that can be developed without major modifications to the existing dams and a minimum of regulatory delay.<\/p>\n

Projects will be selected in two areas:<\/p>\n