As part of the study, scientists analyzed 11.8 million locations that could theoretically be used to generate hydropower. True, the researchers note that not all of them are actually suitable for the construction of hydropower plants - "for technical or economic reasons," writes CleanTechnica.

The total generation potential includes the entire amount of electricity that could theoretically be generated if all water resources are used. However, there are still technical and economic obstacles, the authors of the study recall. The ratio of technically feasible and economically profitable locations to the total development potential is 20% and 16%, respectively.

It turns out that if we take into account only economically advantageous locations for hydropower production, then the realistic generation potential will be approximately 9% of the total world electricity demand. At present, the share of hydropower in the total amount of electricity consumed in the world is about 3%.