House committee passes hydropower bill sponsored by McMorris Rodgers

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Dec. 5 voted 28-19 to advance legislation led by its chair U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) to modernize the nation’s hydropower licensing process and promote next-generation hydropower projects.

“Unleashing hydropower will also help the U.S. substantially further reduce carbon emissions,” Rep. McMorris Rodgers said in supporting committee passage of the bill. “We should be embracing the resources and the infrastructure we have at our disposal, not turning away from them.”

The Hydropower Clean Energy Future Act, H.R. 4045, which the congresswoman sponsored on June 12, would expand clean, renewable, reliable, and affordable hydropower production in America.

The legislation would confirm that hydropower is an essential renewable energy resource for all Americans; reform the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing process; remove barriers to rapidly expanding hydropower development; recognize hydropower’s contributions to a more stable and reliable electric grid; and address construction barriers brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. McMorris Rodgers’ staff.

“Right now, only 3 percent of dams in our country actually produce electricity,” she said. “By leveraging this untapped potential for more hydropower energy, we could double hydropower production in the United States without building a single new dam.”

H.R. 4045, added the lawmaker, “will help us get there by modernizing the burdensome and outdated licensing process that can take up to a decade to complete and is standing in the way of next generation hydrotechnology.”

The measure now heads to the full U.S. House for consideration.