Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds that— according to the Energy Information Administration, hydropower is the largest renewable energy source for electricity generation in the United States; as of the date of enactment of this Act— hydropower accounted for— 52 percent of electricity generation from renewable resources in the United States; and approximately 6 percent of total electricity generation in the United States; and the use of hydropower results in a reduction of 200,000,000 metric tons of carbon emissions each year; with approximately 100,000 megawatts of electric capacity, hydropower provides low-cost power to 30,000,000 homes in the United States; hydropower provides— baseload power; ancillary benefits that include grid reliability and energy storage; and integration and balancing services for variable renewable electricity resources, such as wind and solar; the Department of Energy estimates that an additional 300 gigawatts of hydropower could be realized in the United States through— efficiency and capacity upgrades at existing facilities; powering nonpowered dams; the development of new small hydropower projects; and pumped storage hydropower; and the electric power systems in the United States and Canada form a highly integrated North American grid as— the systems are connected at over 35 points; on average, Canada exports 5 to 10 percent of its total electric generation to United States markets, with hydropower resources comprising over 80 percent of the exports; and hydropower imports into the United States from Canada help stabilize the electric system during— sudden disturbances, such as the 2003 Northeast blackout; and severe weather events, such as the 2014 polar vortex.