Rapid Assessment of Hydropower and Environmental Opportunities: Preliminary Results for the Connecticut and Roanoke River Basins

A method for rapidly assessing hydropower and environmental opportunities was developed and applied to the Connecticut and Roanoke river basins in the eastern United States.  The approach identified complementary opportunities by discovering spatially-explicit interactions between hydropower potential and environmental condition.  Hydropower opportunities included powering non-powered dams and developing new sites. Hydropower opportunities that did not meet requirements for distance from protected lands and waterways, minimum power generation or absence of sensitive species were identified and removed from consideration. Environmental opportunities included potential improvements to fish passage, aquatic habitat, water quality, hydrology and societal value (recreation, aesthetics, etc.). The Connecticut basin assessment identified 27 sites associated with environmental opportunities, with a total additional generation capacity of 55 MW. The Roanoke basin assessment identified 26 sites with associated environmental opportunities, for a total 63MW additional generation in the basin. Future work will include basin-wide assessments of efficiency improvements at existing dams and their potential for increased hydropower production and environmental improvement.