Hydro Headlines: First Phase of the Hydropower Operations Optimization Prize Closes Soon

DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy sent this bulletin at 05/11/2022 10:00 AM EDT

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Water Power Technologies Office

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Image announcing the newsletter name "Hydro Headlines" and an image of hydropower.

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

Reach out to us at WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov with any inquiries or suggestions.
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Did You Know?

Although there are more than 90,000 dams in the United States, less than 3% produce power. The U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is funding projects to help capitalize on this existing infrastructure to safely and efficiently incorporate and increase hydropower generation.

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

Phase 1 of the H2Os Prize Closes Soon: The Hydropower Operations Optimization (H2Os) Prize encourages new solutions that can help advance hydropower’s contribution to the energy grid. With a total prize pool of up to $75,000, the prize challenges innovators to use modeling, data analytics, and machine learning to schedule hydropower operations in coordination with existing grid scheduling practices while respecting water management operations and constraints. The deadline for Phase 1 of the prize is May 20, 2022.

Register for the WPTO Hydropower Program Peer Review: Join WPTO for their 2022 Hydropower Program Peer Review. The virtual, open-to-the-public event gives stakeholders a platform to provide feedback on DOE’s water power investments. Results from the peer review process are used to inform decision making on hydropower R&D. The Hydropower Program Peer Review will take place July 25–July 28, 2022. Registration is open now.

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Products & Publications

Reflecting on Hydropower Accomplishments: This new WPTO article summarizes the hydropower projects detailed in the office’s 2020–2021 Accomplishments Report. Explore these successes from the past couple years and learn how WPTO-funded projects are helping to advance hydropower and pumped storage hydropower (PSH) systems for a flexible, reliable grid.

Small Hydropower Design Tool (waterSHED) Goes Online: Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently developed the Small Hydropower Environmental Design (waterSHED) tool. This user-friendly tool allows hydropower stakeholders to virtually design, simulate, and evaluate modular hydropower facilities. 

Natel Energy Video Depicts Efforts to Increase Hydropower Turbine Fish Survival: A new video from Natel Energy explains the results from their WPTO-funded fish testing research on the Restoration Hydro Turbine. Through rigorous fish passage testing, Natel Energy, along with partners at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Kleinschmidt Group, designed a turbine that allows for safe fish passage while generating clean hydropower. 

Journal Article Discusses How PSH Can Better Support the Grid: PNNL researchers recently published an article in the Journal of Energy Storage that presents a method to optimize small-scale PSH facilities to better service multiple aspects of the energy grid. The proposed method is widely applicable to a variety of PSH facilities.

National Laboratory Paper Details Implantable Fish Monitoring Device: PNNL researchers published a paper in Nano Energy discussing advancements in fish monitoring devices. This paper explains PNNL’s work to create a device that is powered by the movement of the host fish, allowing it to collect more data over longer periods of time.

Upcoming Events

R&D Deep Dive: Alternative Opportunities for Hydropower

May 19, 2022, 1–2 p.m. ET, Online

Existing infrastructure provides many opportunities for unique, untapped benefits of hydropower technologies. Besides providing clean energy, hydropower also clears the way for new business models, improved facility and community resilience, and improved environmental outcomes. Join the cross-lab team investigating new drivers, benefits, and values as they present the top five alternative opportunities identified and discuss existing examples, challenges, barriers, and approaches to nationally scale these examples.

Register for the webinar.

WPTO Hydropower Program Peer Review

July 25–29, 2022, Various Times Starting at 10 a.m. ET, Online

The Peer Review process provides stakeholders an opportunity to voice their feedback and provide recommendations on WPTO initiatives, including those in the Hydropower Program. The Peer Review sessions are organized by activity area and will span four days of virtual presentations from hydropower project leads.

Register for the sessions you’d like to attend.

In Case You Missed It

Request for Information Seeks Feedback on Hydropower and Climate Change: WPTO seeks comments from the nonfederal hydropower community on data and research needs to understand how the hydropower community can leverage climate change science to inform long-term hydropower operation and resource planning. The information will help WPTO design future research and development initiatives, tools, and datasets that address the risk of climate change on hydropower generation. The deadline to submit responses to this request is June 6, 2022.

WPTO/DOE in the News

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