Hydropower is globally the largest producer of renewable energy, by contributing approximately 16.5% of the electricity produced, while wind, biopower and solar produce around 10% of the electricity (by 2018).  As hydropower with reservoirs can store energy over time, hydropower is an enabler of intermittent energy sources, such as wind and solar.

Hydropower provides very low-cost electricity over its long lifetime, despite relatively high upfront construction costs. The global weighted average cost of electricity from hydropower projects in 2018 was US$ 0.047 per kWh, making it the lowest-cost source of electricity in many markets (IRENA 2019).

In Norway, hydropower has been the backbone of the electricity system since the first developments more than 100 years back and stands even today for more than 90% of the electricity production. Hydropower is a very important contributor in the transition to a fully electric society.

Hydropower supports several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), directly related to the goals for Climate Action (SDG 13) and Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), which are in themselves catalysts for many of the remaining goals. Given hydropower’s ability to provide multiple services – including freshwater management, climate mitigation, climate adaptation services, firm energy, energy storage and other ancillary services – hydropower can contribute to other SDGs as well, including those for water (SDG 6) and resilient infrastructure (SDG 9). The SDGs are highly interconnected, and that a direct impact on one goal can create indirect impacts on other goals. This interconnectedness creates synergies between SDGs for extending positive impacts, but also creates trade-offs that must be managed to minimize negative impacts.