Hydropower was long the country’s leading source of renewable energy, but it was passed in 2019 by wind and in 2025 by utility-scale solar. It’s still significant, though, with 5.6 percent of U.S.

At first glance, the potential for hydropower in the U.S. seems limited. Of the country’s 84,000 dams, only a small fraction produce hydropower, and the country seems to have an appetite for tearing ...

RICHLAND, Wash.—In a new study assessing how climate change might alter hydropower generation across the continental United States, researchers show that except for some parts of the Southwest, ...