Global Drought Saps Hydropower, Complicating Clean-Energy Push

Record drought across the globe this year dried up rivers and reservoirs and sapped the world’s largest source of renewable electricity: hydropower. 

The dip in electricity generated by the flow of water across dams in China, Europe and the U.S. stifled power production. In some places, it has caused factories and smelters to shut down for weeks on end.