2.2.6. Hydro

Hydroelectric power in California can be divided into two different categories. There are facilities which use a dam to create a reservoir to generate electricity, with an installed capacity that is typically larger than 30 MW, and there are other facilities which divert water from a river or stream to generate electricity, with typically much smaller unit power capacities. In 2018, the former totalled 12,281 MW and generated 13% of the total in-state electricity output, while the latter clocked in at just 1758 MW and 2% of generated electricity [36]. The corresponding Ecoinvent processes for dammed reservoir and run-of-river hydroelectricity in the WECC region [38] were adopted here.
