At the end of each year, I like to reflect back on all of the information (news stories and feature articles) provided on Hydro Review and see what was of most interest to the site’s global readership of hydropower professionals. This introspection always reveals some interesting trends, and this year is no exception.
Click here to view last year’s recap and see how things may be different and the same.
Trends uncovered this year include interest in news about all aspects of dams – safety, construction (through raising) and even removal. In addition, readers showed interest in controls and, always popular right now, pumped storage hydropower.
For feature articles, three of the top five related to the history of Hydro Hall of Fame inductees. Dam raising again was a popular topic, with two of the top five feature articles on this topic.
Below are the specific articles referenced, if you didn’t read them and want more information.
The top 5 most popular news stories are:
- H2O Power reports partial breach of dam at 27.5 MW Twin Falls Generating Station
- Corps awards contract to raise Folsom Dam
- NYPA completes Niagara Power Project control room upgrade
- Removal completed on Copco No. 2 dam in western U.S.
- Pumped storage hydro included in DOE support for clean energy on mine lands
The top 5 most popular feature articles are:
- How Long Lake Dam made history in Washington State
- Why Denver Water is raising Gross Dam
- Ocoee No. 2: The little dam that could
- Building Lay Dam, Alabama’s first hydroelectric powerhouse
- Wave of construction kicks off at Folsom Dam
Interestingly, all of the most read content on Hydro Review from 2023 related to the U.S., despite our readership being global. I know the themes are applicable worldwide, but I was surprised none of our non-U.S. news coverage, for example of the situation with dams and hydropower plants in Ukraine, was among the top 5 for either list.
And I wasn’t too far off. Russian forces destroyed Kakhovskaya hydro plant in Ukraine was No. 6 on the list of most-read news stories for 2023.
