Global Energy Monitor

Architecture

Global Energy Monitor’s Global Hydropower Tracker uses a two-level system for organizing information, consisting of both a database and wiki pages with further information. The database tracks hydropower plants and includes information such as project owner, operator, status, number of turbines, technology type, and location. A wiki page for each project is created within the Global Energy Monitor wiki. The database and wiki pages are updated annually.

Status Categories

Announced: Projects that have been publicly reported in corporate or government plans but have not yet actively moved forward by applying for permits or seeking land, material, or financing.

Pre-construction: Projects that are actively moving forward in seeking governmental approvals, land rights, financing, or power purchase agreements.

Construction: Projects for which equipment installation has begun and site preparation and other development and construction activities are underway.

Operating: Projects that have been formally commissioned.

Shelved: Projects that have not yet achieved operation, but which do not belong in the announced, pre-construction, or construction categories for one of two reasons: either an announcement has been made that the plans for the project are being put on hold, or there are no reports of progress or activity for a period of at least two years.

Inactive: Projects which are either mothballed, retired, or canceled. Mothballed projects are those which had achieved operation but which have since been deactivated or put into an inactive state without being fully retired and dismantled. Retired projects are those which had achieved operation but which have since been permanently decommissioned, including dismantling of the physical structure. Canceled projects are those which did not achieve operation and which have either been formally announced as canceled or for which there have been no reports of progress or activity for a period of at least four years.

Technology Types

Conventional Storage: Projects which typically or entirely generate electricity from water stored in a reservoir.

Pumped Storage: Projects which generate electricity using water which is cycled between a lower and an upper reservoir by a pumping system.

Run-Of-River: Projects which typically or entirely generate electricity from flowing water with little to no storage capacity.

Unknown: Technology type not specified.

Conventional and Pumped Storage: Projects which have both conventional storage and pumped storage capability.

Conventional and Run-Of-River: Projects which have both conventional storage and run-of-river capability.

Research Process

The Global Hydropower Tracker data set draws on various public data sources, including:

  • Industry data on hydropower facilities 
  • Government websites tracking active power plants and project permits and applications
  • Reports by power companies (both state-owned and private)
  • News and media reports
  • Non-governmental organizations, such as Landesa, tracking hydropower projects or permits

A list of major data sources can be found here.

Global Energy Monitor researchers perform data validation by comparing GEM’s dataset against proprietary and public data such as S&P Global’s World Electric Power Plant Database (WEPP) and the World Resource Institute’s Global Power Plant Database, as well as various company and government sources.

Wiki Pages

For each hydropower project, a wiki page is created on Global Energy Monitor’s wiki. Under standard wiki convention, all information is linked to a publicly-accessible published reference, such as a news article, company or government report, or a regulatory permit. In order to ensure data integrity in the open-access wiki environment, Global Energy Monitor researchers review all edits of project wiki pages.

Mapping

To allow easy public access to the results, Global Energy Monitor worked with GreenInfo Network to develop a map-based and table-based interface using the Leaflet Open-Source JavaScript library. In the case of exact coordinates, locations have been visually determined using Google Maps, Google Earth, Wikimapia, or OpenStreetMap. For proposed projects, exact locations, if available, are from permit applications, or company or government documentation. If the location of a hydropower project or proposal is not known, Global Energy Monitor identifies the most accurate location possible based on available information.

Global Hydropower Tracker Release Notes

May 2023

Global Energy Monitor releases the first version of the Global Hydropower Tracker.

  • All global regions have been researched for this data release.
  • The Global Hydropower Tracker, consistent with recent changes across all of Global Energy Monitor’s trackers, uses the following naming conventions: Regions and subregions are defined according to United Nations definitions. The country name “Türkiye” is used in place of “Turkey.”