Water Data in Hydropower Relicensing
All across the country, privately-owned hydropower plants are nearing the end of their current licenses, giving communities the opportunity to reevaluate the value of these plants through the relicensing process. All non-federally-owned hydropower plants are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), an independent agency within the Department of Energy. Among other things, FERC issues licenses to hydropower plants that lay out conditions for their operation and typically last 30-50 years. There are a little over one thousand FERC-licensed dams across the United States, and more than 400 of them are scheduled to come up for relicensing by 2033.
FERC relicensing is going through an innovative period, with industry representatives and stakeholders pushing for reforms to the Federal Power Act. Recent court cases have also sought to clarify the roles of various agencies and timelines for their actions and responsibilities throughout the process.
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