Hydropower is still ‘the forgotten giant of electricity’ – and that needs to change

In some countries, hydro's share of the power mix is significantly higher, even covering close to 100% of electricity demand. Nonetheless, hydro is frequently an afterthought in global energy policy discussions. As I said, a forgotten giant.

Now, as decision-makers around the world contend with how to meet renewed strong growth in electricity consumption, I believe it's high time to give hydropower the attention it deserves.

As the IEA has long pointed out, electricity demand is set to rise much faster than overall energy demand in the years ahead, signalling the emergence of a new Age of Electricity. Hydropower can help meet this increasing power consumption as populations and economies grow, electrification advances and investment pours into digital infrastructure like data centres.