Colorado is looking into expanding zero-emissions power by adding hydroelectric power to irrigation dams:
Colorado State University professor Daniel Zimmerle... and researchers will study how efficient and plausible low-head hydropower, which uses river current and tidal flows to produce energy without the use of a dam, is in hundreds of statewide irrigation ditches with drops between five feet and 30 feet.
The costs and environmental impacts of constructing a dam make traditional hydroelectric projects difficult. However, small hydro costs are similar to other renewable energy sources, Zimmerle said [Lauren Katims, "Colorado Examines Hydropower in Irrigation Ditches," Government Technology, 2011.03.01.
With all the high water comin this spring, could South Dakota take advantage of even some seasonal small hydro? Colorado has mountains, which make that water flow with a little more power than the meandering Jim and Vermillion and Big Sioux produce as they drop a meager few hundred feet as they traverse East River. Maybe the Cheyenne and White could pump out a few more watts for the reservations and ranches?
Read more about small hydro here.