WPTO Releases Annual Accomplishments Report

DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy sent this bulletin at 03/09/2022 03:15 PM EST

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Water Power Technologies Office

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March 9, 2022

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Welcome to Hydro Headlines, a monthly snapshot of hydropower news and happenings. This month’s newsletter takes approximately five minutes to read. 

Reach out to us at WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov with any inquiries or suggestions.
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Aside from generating clean energy, hydropower provides a multitude of benefits, including flood control, irrigation, and clean drinking water.

Follow along on the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook channels for more #WaterWednesday content each week.

Upcoming Deadlines

Announcements & Opportunities

Cover photo for the WPTO Accomplishments Report.

WPTO Releases Annual Accomplishments Report: The Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) released its 2020–2021 Accomplishments Report, highlighting dozens of WPTO-funded research, development, and demonstration projects that contribute to crucial efforts to address climate change and transition the nation’s energy system. Read the report to learn about hydropower projects and accomplishments over the past year.

Inaugural MYPP Maps Future Hydropower R&D: WPTO released its first Multi-Year Program Plan, detailing the office’s research priorities in the years to come. This comprehensive, forward-looking report outlines strategic plans to optimize hydropower technologies to help meet the nation’s energy and sustainability goals. The report is organized by activity area and includes targeted objectives ranging until 2030.

Jennifer Garson Becomes Director of WPTO: Jennifer Garson was recently named WPTO director after serving as acting director since May 2021. Since she joined WPTO more than three years ago, Jennifer has led some of the office’s key activities and initiatives—like the Powering the Blue Economy initiative—and a portfolio of prizes, interagency grants, and other programs. She has focused on increasing the impact of federal funding for supporting innovation, including leveraging nontraditional financial mechanisms. Over the last decade, she has worked across DOE, the federal government, and in partnership with the private sector to launch and create new programs, prizes, and commercialization approaches.

DOE Releases Report on the U.S. Hydropower Supply Chain: DOE recently released the “Hydropower Supply Chain Deep Dive Assessment” as part of a series of reports focused on America’s supply chains. The report found that, while the existing U.S. hydropower supply chain is mature and effectively supports the nation’s large fleet, domestic supply chain activities may need to scale up to support anticipated refurbishments, upgrades, and relicensing efforts, as well as the new construction needed to support a decarbonized grid.

Products & Publications

WPTO-Funded Projects Optimize Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants for Hydropower: The National Hydropower Association published a WPTO-written article highlighting three projects working to advance environmentally acceptable lubricants. These efforts will be instrumental in demonstrating the feasibility of using such lubricants in hydropower facilities, paving the way for easier regulation processes and a variety of environmental benefits.

National Lab Developing a New Mechanism for Assessing Aquatic Resources From a Drop of Water: Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are examining environmental DNA to identify fish and other aquatic resources that may be impacted by hydropower developments. Using only a drop of water, researchers can better predict changes in aquatic resources at a fraction of the cost of more conventional methods.

National Lab Report Examines Energy Storage as a Dual-Use Transmission and Energy Market Asset: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory released a report detailing potential new markets for energy storage such as pumped storage hydropower projects. The report references a policy statement regarding dual-use energy transmission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and outlines measures that will help pumped storage hydropower operators and stakeholders to follow federal regulations outlined in the new policy statement.

Upcoming Events

WPTO Semiannual Stakeholder Webinar

TOMORROW, March 10, 2022, 1–2:15 p.m. ET

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Join WPTO leadership for a look back at some of the office’s biggest accomplishments from the last year and a preview of what’s to come. Plus, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Kelly Speakes-Backman will speak to administration priorities for the coming year as well as the investment in water power projects in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Questions may be submitted prior to the webinar by emailing WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov.

Register for the webinar.

HOPIG Webinar – Exploring Multidimensional Spatial-Temporal Hydropower Operational Flexibilities

April 20, 2022, 1-2 p.m. ET

This webinar, organized by the Hydropower Operations and Planning Interest Group (HOPIG), will unpack a new project under the  Hydropower and Water Innovation for a Resilient Electricity System (HydroWIRES) Initiative. The webinar will feature presenters from Portland General Electric and Stevens Institute of Technology to discuss their ongoing project, titled Exploring Multidimensional Spatial-Temporal Hydropower Operational Flexibilities.

Register for the webinar.

In Case You Missed It

HydroWIRES Roadmap Outlines Next Steps for Hydropower and Grid Resilience: WPTO published its “HydroWIRES Initiative Research Roadmap,” which outlines forward-looking objectives for the HydroWIRES Initiative. This roadmap details projected outcomes and real-world applications stemming from HydroWIRES Initiative research. 

National Lab Research Informs Hydropower Hearing on Capitol Hill: During a recent U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing, U.S. senators and expert panelists frequently cited several WPTO-funded projects and research efforts to inform a discussion of hydropower’s role in a 100% clean energy future. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory released an article detailing the impacts of their research on the hearing.

U.S.-Norway Hydropower Collaborations: DOE and Norway’s Royal Ministry of Petroleum and Energy committed to collaborating on future hydropower R&D by signing an annex to an existing memorandum of understanding. Learn more about the exciting hydropower projects to come from this collaboration.

WPTO/DOE in the News

Hydro in the Headlines