Last year, global hydro capacity grew by 25 GW, or 2.7%, to about 970 GW. China accounted for almost half of last year's new hydro capacity, and Beijing plans to boost China's hydro capacity from 212 GW last December to 300 GW by 2015. Vietnam, India, Brazil and Canada also brought significant new capacity on line.
Several key advantages explain the prominence of hydropower. First, the operating costs are relatively low. Second, hydro plants have a long life span - typically over 50 years. Third, an energy storage facility in hydro plants allows hydro to be both a baseload power source and a backup for intermittent renewables like solar and wind, the SAAEA blog reports.
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