Adding some 1,085 megawatts (MW) to its energy mix last year, Turkey has maintained its lead in Europe and moved up to the fourth place globally in hydroelectric power capacity installation.

According to the International Hydropower Association's (IHA) "2019 Hydropower Status Report," hydropower constituted 15.9 percent of world's energy consumption last year.

During that span, a total of 48 countries created new hydroelectric power capacity of 21,800 MW and, as a result, installed globally hydroelectric power capacity reached 1.3 million MW. The highest capacity increase was seen in Asian and Pacific countries at 13,131 MW, followed by Americas with 5,475 MW, Europe with 2,202 MW and 1,009 MW in Africa.

Last year, a total of 4,200 terawatt hours of electricity was produced in hydropower plants. Turkey, in the meantime, maintained its lead in Europe and moved up to the fourth place – from sixth in the previous year with 592 MW.

China ranked first among the countries with the largest hydropower capacity installation with a total of 8,540 MW, followed by Brazil at 3,866 MW and India at 2,487 MW.

In 2017, China had also ranked first with 9,120 MW, followed by Brazil with 3,376 MW, India with 1,908 MW and Portugal with 1,050 MW. Turkey was behind Angola, which had new hydropower installation of 1,018 MW.

"While we are witnessing [a] renewed interest in pumped hydropower as technology evolves to ensure grid stability, markets around the world have been slow to recognize and reward its value," the report highlighted.