Hydroelectricity makes up about a third of renewable energy in the U.S. Plant operators say they have far more federal hurdles to overcome than wind or solar energy companies.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Water is one of the world’s oldest sources of power. Today, hydropower accounts for nearly one-third of renewable electricity generation in the U.S., but as Harvest Public Media contributer Teresa Homsi reports, federal hurdles may prevent older hydroelectric plants from staying online and new projects from getting off the ground.
TERESA HOMSI, BYLINE: In Michigan’s upper peninsula, 74 turbines are spinning inside the Sault Hydroelectric Plant and generating power for thousands of homes in the region.
(SOUNDBITE OF TURBINES SPINNING)
HOMSI: The plant is narrow, a quarter-mile long, and its red sandstone bricks hearken back to the Gilded Age, when the plant first opened in 1902.
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