Solar vs Hydroelectric

Hydroelectric – A dynamic Renewable Energy Solution

A greatly misunderstood fact in the United States is that Hydroelectric Energy is not considered renewable energy. 

This is simply not true. 

Although there are areas of hydroelectric power generation that do not qualify as renewable energy, such as in the case of large dams, Hydropower presently accounts for 52 percent of the nation's renewable electricity generation and 7 percent of total electricity generation.

Hydropower is generating power in every region of the United States and is the largest source of clean, renewable electricity.

Solar energy is unable to match the dependability of Hydroelectric power generation, and its ability to provide energy during critical peak hour requirements.

Engineers have long been aware that hydroelectric generators operate at an efficiency rate that is far higher than the efficiency of solar.   

According to the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2021 there are more than 91,000 dams and impoundments in the United States and less than 3% of these are presently generating energy. 

Think of this, this leaves approximately 88,270 dams and/or impoundments that are available to produce energy!

Further, much of the Hydro technology that is used to produce energy today is more than 40 years old.

Water cycles are often year-round, flowing 24 hours per day, and 7 days a week. This type of energy production is necessary to meet peak hour demands.

When it comes to renewable energy, hydroelectric stands out as a major solution for the Nation’s energy crisis.

Hydropower has tremendous generation potential

Over the past few years, the Department of Energy (DOE) has been exploring the untapped hydropower generation that exists across the United States. These findings demonstrate one of the ways the United States can further diversify its energy portfolio with sustainable and clean domestic power generation from the nation’s oldest and leading renewable resource: hydropower.

Maximizing existing water infrastructure

The Energy Department in 2012 detailed the potential to develop electric power generation at existing dams across the United States that aren’t currently equipped to produce power. The report estimates that without building a single new dam, these available hydropower resources, if fully developed, could provide an electrical generating capacity of more than 12 gigawatts (GW), equivalent to roughly 15 percent of current U.S. hydropower capacity.

CURRENTVOLT technology has many cross-over applications that will benefit all areas of Hydroelectric generation.

A major focus of energy generation is within the nations Irrigation Districts.  Due to past technical limitations in generating significant energy from low flow water movement, there have not been any major studies that show energy potential inside the nations Irrigation Districts.

CURRENTVOLT opens the door to a completely new source of energy.

Solar Capacity verses Output

If you ask the question, ‘What is the energy output of a specific solar farm. You will almost always get a reply that refers to the system ‘Capacity’.

If you clarify the question, by asking how much energy the specific

solar farm actually produces (net energy), you will often get the same answer.

The fact is solar farms are designed with a total system capacity, but they NEVER produce this amount of energy.

This would not be too surprising if the reply wasn’t coming from industry experts.

It is nearly impossible to get a factual answer.

The reason: Most people do not know the answer. 

This includes individuals that are responsible for making multi-million dollar investments in energy solutions.

Capacity is NOT Output

The efficiency rating of Solar panels is NOT the efficiency of the solar farm itself. There is a significant difference!

A 25 megawatt solar farm produces output that is nowhere near 25 megawatts. Not even close!

If you do a little research on the Internet, you will find information that states most solar farms operate at 14% to 20% efficiency.

Now compare this with ‘Real World’ energy output. That is, what the solar farm is actually producing, and its true cost of operation.

Good luck trying to find the real output information. It appears to be a guarded secret, or few have any idea what their solar farms are really producing.  This makes it very difficult for community leaders to make informed decisions on the best energy solution.

Life Cycle of a Solar Farm

If the return on Investment (ROI) of a solar farm is based on a twenty (20) year life cycle, does this take into consideration coming advances in solar panel technology?

Solar panels that are in production today are far more efficient than what they were five years ago.  The advances are greatly increasing every year.

This is the reality: In 10 years technology will have increased so much that it would be necessary to retrofit older solar farms with newer higher efficient panels.

We have yet to see any ROI projections take this into consideration.  

Energy Value

Not all renewable energy has the same value.  Energy supply must match the requirements of Residential and Commercial customers/users.

The largest recent growth in Renewable Energy has been focused in Solar.  Although Solar has advantages, it is also known to have a low inefficiency rating (14% -20%) and is unpredictable. Solar is not able to produce enough energy as a single energy solution for peak time requirements.  When the sun is not out, solar does not produce energy. For Solar to provide energy when dark, it is necessary to combine these systems with large Lithium battery banks that store energy.  At present, this is what the investment community is focused on doing.  Batteries and more batteries, but is this really a ‘Clean’ solution? When it comes to environmental concerns, how many of these investors have toured a Lithium mining operation? 

Who will want to recycle Lithium when there is no longer a demand for it?

As the world converts to renewable energy, the ability of an energy supplier to produce consistent and dependable energy will offer the highest value solution.

CURRENTVOLT technology produces predictable energy 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.  This predictable and consistent energy production is a perfect match for the nations grid requirements. 

When solar is compared to CURRENTVOLT Hydroelectric technology, capacity for capacity, we out perform solar by more than 300%.

When solar is compared to CURRENTVOLT Hydroelectric technology, capacity for capacity, our cost is nearly 40% less.