The Nature Conservancy’s white paper, “The Power of Rivers: Finding balance between energy and conservation in hydropower development,” addresses the global expansion of hydropower dams and the need to find development scenarios that provide energy, but also work for communities and nature. Designed as a resource for hydropower companies, governments, financiers and other organizations, used a global database of dams currently planned or under construction to demonstrate how Hydropower by Design can produce more-balanced outcomes for rivers and energy. Findings show that system-scale solutions, such as Hydropower by Design, have the global potential to maintain connectivity on more than 100,000 km of river while reaching equivalent energy development levels.