Excerpt
SUMMARY: Energy will be a key issue for the new Congress, and hydropower is one of the few areas of agreement between Democrats and Republicans. Legislative changes have made it easier to develop small-scale hydroelectric projects and both parties find it advantageous. Special correspondent Dan Boyce of Inside Energy reports on what else proponents are seeking from lawmakers.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): The topic of energy often fuels political debate.
But, as our next report shows, water might be putting out some of those fires. The U.S. Department of Energy says hydropower has the potential to generate electricity for more than four million homes.
Our story comes from Dan Boyce of Inside Energy. That’s a public media collaboration working with the NewsHour.
DAN BOYCE, Inside Energy: This is what a lot of us think of when we hear the word hydropower, but in a lot of ways, this is the old face of hydro in the U.S., and this is the new face.
So, Bev, this is all it is.
BEVERLY RICH, San Juan County Historical Society: This is it.
DAN BOYCE: A generator the size of a wheelbarrow pulling in water from a mountain stream, generating enough power for about 10 homes. This little generator has helped change the course of hydro-history.
BEVERLY RICH: Come on, really? This little, tiny thing in a 5-foot-by-10-foot building is causing all of this?
DAN BOYCE: Beverly Rich and other members of the volunteer San Juan County Historical Society started taking care of this old mill site about 15 years ago, a mill with a water pipeline the workers used decades ago to help process precious metals like gold and silver.
BEVERLY RICH: At that time, we kept thinking, gee, there really ought to be a way we can use that water.
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