hydropower

The hydropower company Nature and People First had proposed a "pumped storage" project in the Black Mesa area. Indigenous advocates are celebrating the decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Cuts to water use along the Colorado River could be spread evenly across some southwestern states, or follow the more than a century-old priority system that currently governs water management. Those are two alternatives federal officials are considering to keep hydropower generation going at the nation’s largest reservoirs according to a draft plan released Tuesday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that there was a 14% dip in hydropower in the U.S. this year. The vast majority of that decline is in the West. Less moisture and higher temps meant lower reservoir levels and decreased the ability to get energy from hydro dams. While utilities have long prepared for droughts, they’re becoming more frequent due to climate change.

In 2017, coal remained the most common fuel source by state percentage, leading in 18 states — a surprising fact given it’s fallen behind natural gas in…