Hydropower Rises as IEA Calls It ‘Forgotten Giant’
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- Hydropower supplies about 4,500 TWh annually—roughly 14 % of global electricity and as much as solar and wind combined.
- Fatih Birol (IEA Executive Director) calls hydro “the forgotten giant of electricity” and warns it’s often left out of energy policy discussions.
- China holds ~29 % of the world’s installed hydro capacity, the largest share after Brazil, the United States, and Canada.
- Norway (alongside Paraguay, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Albania) depends on hydro for a large proportion of its electricity generation.
- Emerging and developing economies have ~60 % of hydro resources untapped, representing a huge growth opportunity to boost electricity access and industrialisation.
- Pumped‑storage hydro is the largest electricity‑storage technology today, capable of holding about 30 times more power than battery storage.
Why it matters: Emerging economies could tap 60 % of hydro resources, boosting clean electricity for millions.
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