California Hydroelectric Generation Declining Due to Severe Drought Conditions
As of the time of this writing (July 2021), an eye-popping one-third of the state of California is now categorized as suffering “exceptional drought,” which is the highest and most intense drought categorization in use. Obviously, this situation is creating many problems, one of which is negatively impacting the state’s hydroelectric generation capacity.
Measuring the Drought Impact on California’s Hydroelectric Generation Capacity
According to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) U.S. Drought Monitor, 100% of California is experiencing a drought – 94% of which represents areas categorized as “severe” or higher (33% of the state is experiencing “exceptional” drought, 52% “extreme” drought and 9% “severe” drought).
These levels are historic, and, unsurprisingly, have reduced California’s water supply. For example, the largest reservoir in the state is at less than 50% capacity, and the second largest reservoir is only at 40% capacity, which will likely force the nearby Edward Hyatt Power Plant to shut down. Check out this EIA brief for more specifics on the impact of the drought on the state’s water supply.
The result is that hydroelectric generation in California is down 37% for the first 4 months of 2021 compared to the same time period in 2020, and a whopping 71% lower than the same 4-month period in 2019. Overall, the EIA forecasts a total 19% decline year-over-year compared to 2020 – a loss of nearly 17 million MWh for the year.
The picture looks pretty bleak right now. And it’s not just California, drought and extreme heat conditions have been pounding the western U.S. for much of the Summer 2021, leading to supply shortages, planned blackouts, and out-of-control forest fires.
The bottom line is that although the negative impact on hydroelectric generation is problematic, unfortunately, this is only one of several massive issues that have been thrust upon the residents, utilities, first responders, and government officials throughout California and the Western United States in general.
Fingers crossed that this situation improves sooner rather than later.
