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Bureau of Reclamation, which in recent years has sought to expand its role as the second largest producer of hydropower in the country behind the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• The agency said in a report last year that its canals combined have the potential to generate more than 100 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power tens of thousands of homes.
• Bureau of Reclamation Senior Advisor Robert Quint said during recent testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee that the agency wants to make sure it can review potential environmental impacts if warranted for any hydropower project proposed.
• In eastern Montana, Michael Carlson with the Buffalo Rapids Irrigation District in Glendive said he's eager to try out the concept. He's been investigating options to put small electricity-generating turbines directly into the pipelines Buffalo Rapids uses to transport water from canals fed by the Yellowstone River to farmers' fields.
• For now, it is too early to say how much power could be generated or if it would even be economically feasible, Carlson said. But he said the proposals before Congress would let him find out.
• "It's like the first stages when they started to develop wind farms," he said. "We're just capturing the water pressure and seeing if it will make electricity. It's a pretty simple concept."
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