A new briefing by the International Hydropower Association (IHA), 2015 Key Trends in Hydropower, shows that 39 GW of new hydropower capacity was put into operation in 2014, plus a further 1.46 GW of pumped storage, continuing the record deployment in the sector in recent years. The additions brought the world’s total installed hydropower capacity to 1,055 GW at the end of 2014.

2015 Key Trends in Hydropower features breakdowns of total and new capacity by region and key countries. Following are some highlights:

More than half of the capacity added in 2014 was in China, with 21.25 GW hydro and an additional 0.6 GW of pumped hydro installed. Other active countries include Brazil (+3.3 GW), Malaysia (+3.3 GW), Canada (+1.7 GW), Turkey (+1.4 GW), India (+1.2 GW), and Russia (+1.1 GW).

The briefing also discusses key trends and noteworthy developments in 2014, including increasing interconnections, a shake-up in manufacturing, more activity in ‘mature’ markets, and new sources of finance and investment.

"This new information shows that hydropower’s strong growth trend around the world is continuing," said Richard Taylor, chief executive of the International Hydropower Association. “The role of hydropower is being increasingly recognised -- not just in terms of clean energy generation, but also the contribution it can make in providing a range of water services and solutions to climate change.

IHA's briefing reports on statistics from its hydro database, which holds records on 10,000+ grid-connected hydropower stations worldwide. The 2015 Key Trends in Hydropower is available for download online: www.hydropower.org/publications.

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