North America Hydropower Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The North America hydropower market is expected to rise at a CAGR of more than 0.5% during the forecast period of 2020-2025. Factors such as increasing investments in hydropower plants and increasing demand for renewable energy are likely to drive the market. However, the high initial cost of construction and regulatory nature of the United States electricity market are expected to restrain the growth of the market.

Key Highlights

• Pumped hydro storage is expected to witness growth in the segment throughout the forecast period. It is among the only commercially viable renewable storage energy mechanism and therefore is expected to play a vital role in the transition mix to renewable energy.
• The technological advancements in efficiency and decrease in the production cost of hydropower projects are expected to create ample opportunity for market players.
• The United States is expected to be the largest market for the region's hydropower market due to increasing investment in the sector and the highest installed capacity of hydropower energy in the region.

Key Market Trends

Pumped Storage to Witness Growth

• The region has vast rivers like the Mississippi and hilly regions like the Rocky Mountains that provide for the large quantity of water and geographical topographic, which can be used to provide hydropower in the region and aid the growth of the market.
• As the leading renewable energy sources like solar and wind are challenging to predict, it is helpful to use the pumped hydro storage to provide 24-hour electricity to a region without the usage of alternate non-eco-friendly sources like thermal plants in the process. This use is being utilized and exploited by countries in the region and is expected to aid the growth of the segment.
• In 2020, Pumped storage hydro projects in development in Canada include five with a total installed capacity of up to 2,400 MW. The project addresses a key hurdle to integrating renewable generation by absorbing its intermittent output and delivering stable, reliable, carbon-free electricity back to the grid. New projects are being constructed in the region, which is expected to boost the growth of the market.
• Pumped Storage installed capacity increased in the North America region, by 0.25% to 19,326 gigawatts, in 2019 from 19,278 gigawatts, in 2018. The installed capacity is expected to further increase in the forecast period due to further investments in the sector.
• Hence, the pumped storage is expected to witness growth the market in the forecast period due to rising investments in the field.

United States to Dominate the Market

• The country is the largest user of hydropower in the region and also a considerable user of modern water energy storage systems like the pumped hydro storage. The government is pushing to increase the installed hydro capacity of the country.
• The installed hydropower capacity in the country decreased by 0.07%, to 102,769 Megawatt, in 2019 from 102,847 Megawatt, in 2018. New hydro projects are being installed in the country, which is expected to boost the north America hydropower market.
• In January 2020, the United States had issued three licenses for 2 GW of new pumped storage projects, and another 22 GW had received preliminary permits. Although demand for storage is increasing, the primary obstacle for the deployment of additional pumped storage hydropower is obtaining long term financing to cover high up-front capital costs. The Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office continues to see record funding levels for hydropower research and development, including USD 70 million for marine energy and USD 35 million for conventional hydropower
• In 2019, Absaroka Energy lined up financing for a planned 400 MW pumped hydro project near Montana, United States, through an ​equity investment from Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The hydroelectric project is being designed to help integrate more renewable energy onto the Pacific Northwest electrical grid. It is expected to be ready for construction in 2020 with GE Renewable Energy is expected to supply the pump and turbine equipment for the project.
• Hence, the United States is expected to dominate the North America hydropower market due to significant scale investments in the sector.

Competitive Landscape

The North America hydropower market is partially fragmented. Some of the key players in this market include Duke Energy Corporation, Hydro-Québec, BC Hydro & Power Authority, Georgia Power Company, Andritz AG

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