2023 was the third year of the “Ear to the River” survey, an annual survey of the North American hydroelectric industry that was developed through a partnership between the Ontario Waterpower Association (OWA), the Hydropower Foundation, and Kleinschmidt Associates in 2021. In 2023, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) joined the partnership.

The intent of the “Ear to the River” annual survey of the industry is to help owners of hydroelectric facilities and all professionals working in the hydro and greater renewable energy industries better understand the key issues and opportunities that the industry expects to face in the next few years. This information is intended to help inform those within and outside the industry about opportunities available in this thriving clean energy sector. This survey data can also assist in lobbying efforts by providing data on how various policies could impact the role hydro plays in transitioning to a clean energy future.

The 2021 and 2022 Ear to the River reports can be found here 2021 Ear to the River and 2022 Ear to the River. In both years, a single survey was conducted in the fall. Participation was good and represented a solid cross-section of the industry, but we had hoped for greater industry participation, particularly in 2022. The 2022 Final Report stated that the broad range of topics in the survey may have made it challenging for some organizations to participate but the partners also discussed the “survey fatigue” present in the industry that might be impacting participation.

In approaching the 2023 survey, the Ear to the River partners discussed the need to engage differently in order to get better industry response. Instead of one annual survey with multiple questions, we decided to employ a “pulse” survey approach to ask 1 to 3 key questions at a time throughout a six-month period from July through December 2023. We posted these survey questions in multiple venues, including NHA member meetings, industry conferences, and newsletters, as well as through social media using LinkedIn. We had hundreds of survey respondents. The pulse survey format was also effective at getting targeted information. For example, we were able to ask specific questions regarding dam safety in meetings of Chief Dam Safety Engineers at NHA member organizations.

Overall, the response to this new format was very good, and we received feedback that the questions stimulated additional discussion at meetings. The LinkedIn survey format received a very good response, and we were able to verify that over 90% of the respondents were from the hydro industry.

As noted in previous survey reports, the Ear to The River survey is not intended to be a comprehensive source of information about what the industry has done; there are many excellent resources for that, including the recently updated DOE hydropower market report. Instead, this survey is focused on what the industry expects will happen in the next few years. Survey questions sometimes referenced recent industry data and other surveys to allow comparisons and help further the overall understanding of the industry.

All respondents and individual responses are confidential, and results have been presented by industry segment and geographic region, where possible.