We’ve tapped most of the available hydroelectric. That will never provide more than 10% of our needs.
The better option is nuclear. If we had a logical energy policy in place 20 years ago, 90% of our electrical generating capacity would be nuclear. The natural gas could be used for home heating, and all that coal in the ground could be converted into liquid petroleum products. Just like the Germans did.
We would be energy independent.
Until we can design a Nuclear Plant that will not “melt down” with a sudden and total lose of power (including cooling power) then nuclear is just a horrible accident waiting to happen. We will need something like a thorium reactor to make nuclear power safe.
Imagine a solar storm or some other disaster taking out the US grid, now imagine 100 Fukushima’s happening all across the USA. No thank you.