DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.13760826
title: Monthly Hydropower Generation Dataset for Western Canada

description: The presented dataset contains the following simulation-based monthly hydropower generation data for 110 facilities in British Columbia and Alberta, to support Western-US interconnect grid system studies:1) Monthly hydropower generation estimates2) Monthly hydropower flexibility metrics (minimum and maximum hourly generation and daily fluctuations)

The hydropower generation estimates are provided with reference to the facility list that contains the corresponding metadata for each facility.

For more details, please refer to Son, Y., Bracken, C., Broman, D. et al. Monthly hydropower generation data for Western Canada to support Western-US interconnect power system studies. Sci Data 12, 874 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05098-2.

Corresponding author(s): Youngjun Son (youngjun.son@pnnl.gov) and Nathalie Voisin (nathalie.voisin@pnnl.gov)

For data reproduction, please see the GitHub repository at https://github.com/GODEEEP/tgw-hydro-canada.

Hydropower Facility List

The file, CAN_hydropower_facilities&scaling.csv, provides essential information on 146 hydropower facilities in British Columbia and Alberta, derived from Renewable Energy Power Plants, 1 MW or more, by Energy Source by North American Cooperation on Energy Information (NACEI). Additionally, the facility information has been updated with corresponding National Hydrographic Network (NHN) Work Units, global reservoir and lake database (GRanD: Global Reservoirs and Dams Database and HydroLAKES), diversion intake flow rates based on water license information (hydropower), and so on. Below are the descriptions for each column in the facility metadata:



fid: Facility id according to NACEI data. New four-digit id starting with '9' are assigned for facilities with no fid in NACEI data

Facility: Name of the facility

X: Longitude of the facility's powerhouse

Y: Latitude of the facility's powerhouse

Province: Province where the facility is located

Hydro_MW: Nameplate capacity of the facility

NHN_Work_U: Associated NHN Work Units

GRanD_ID: Associated reservoir id from the GRanD dataset

HydroLAKES_ID: Associated lake id from the HydroLAKES dataset

GINDEX: Grid id from the mosartwmpy Canada model

GINDEX_CONUS: Grid id from the mosartwmpy CONUS model, used for facilities in the Columbia River Basin

Basin_Note: Indicator for facilities located in the Columbia River Basin or outside of the meteorological forcing domain of the perturbed thermodynamics simulations

WECC_ADS_2032: Indicator for facilities without the WECC ADS 2032 reference hydropower generation data

Intake_Flow_Rate: Diversion intake flow rates based on hydropower water license information

Type: Type of facility

Water_License: Link to the source of water license information

Scaling: Annual total scaling factor (total hydropower generation / total streamflow volume for 2008)

Scaling_IntakeCap: Annual total scaling factor, constrained by intake flow rates from hydropower water license (total hydropower generation / total streamflow volume not exceeding intake flow rate constraint for 2008)


Among the 146 hydropower facilities listed, only 110 facilities, which are within the applied meteorological forcings domain and have reference hydropower generation data, are considered for monthly hydropower generation estimates.

Monthly Hydropower Generation Estimates and Flexibility Metrics

Each file contains a monthly timeseries dataset (rows: monthly timestamps) from 1981 to 2019 for 110 facilities (columns: Facility listed in CAN_hydropower_facilities&scaling.csv).



CAN_hydropower_monthly_generation_MWh.csv: monthly total hydropower generation in MWh

CAN_hydropower_monthly_p_min_MW.csv: monthly flexibility metric of minimum generation capacity in MW

CAN_hydropower_monthly_p_max_MW.csv: monthly flexibility metric of maximum generation capacity in MW

CAN_hydropower_monthly_p_ador_MW.csv: monthly flexibility metric of the daily operation range in MW


Update Log

- Version 1.1.0: "Scaling" and "Scaling_IntakeCap" colums have been added to Hydropower Facility List, and the file for hydropower facilities has been renamed from CAN_hydropower_facilities.csv to CAN_hydropower_facilities&scaling.csv.

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported under the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program (Project # 79583) at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

The PNNL is a multi-program national laboratory operated by Battelle Memorial Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC05-76RL01830.

Disclaimer

The presented dataset aims to support robust, long-term power system planning under diverse water conditions. However, it should not be used to assess hydropower generation during extreme flood events when facilities may need to be disconnected from power grids due to dam safety and potential loss of control that could propagate into grid instability. Similarly, the dataset should not be utilized for unprecedented drought conditions where reservoir levels may fall below critical power pool levels. Furthermore, evolving water policies, including the Columbia River Treaty, can alter seasonal and monthly hydrological patterns. It is important to note that our hydropower generation dataset, which is derived based on Year 2008, does not account for any historical and future changes in environmental regulations, water management, or water policies.

The dataset was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the U.S. Government. Neither the U.S. Government nor the U.S. Department of Energy, nor the Contractor, nor any or their employees, nor any jurisdiction or organization that has cooperated in the development of these materials, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness or any information, apparatus, product, software, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof, or Battelle Memorial Institute.