Hydropower delays pose grid threat as permits lapse

When the operator of the nation’s tallest dam applied for a new federal permit in 2005, few expected the process to drag on for more than a decade. It’s still not done. California’s Oroville Dam is among a dozen major hydroelectric projects that have been waiting over 10 years to receive a long-term permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The sluggish process is fueling uncertainty about the future of a key source of clean power that has bipartisan support in Congress — but that faces new challenges as the climate warms.