Did You Know?

Finding a water power project has never been easier. WPTO developed a map that details the office’s investments in cutting-edge hydropower and marine energy research across the country.

WPTO Announces Winners of 2023 Hydropower Collegiate Competition and 2024 Competitors: WPTO announced the winners of the first Hydropower Collegiate Competition. Congratulations to Endicott College, Yale University, and Northern Arizona University on their first-, second-, and third-place finishes, respectively. The 10 student-led teams analyzed a case study and provided solutions that can help hydropower fully support a 100% clean energy grid. During the final event at Waterpower Week in Washington, D.C., teams pitched their case studies, presented their approaches to creating community connections, and networked with the industry and each other. WPTO also announced the 10 teams selected to participate in the 2024 competition.

Grid Deployment Office Opens Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives: DOE’s Grid Deployment Office has opened the application period for up to $553.6 million in Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives. Letters of intent to submit full applications are due by 5 p.m. ET on June 22, 2023. Full applications will be due Oct. 6, 2023. To be eligible to file a full application, prospective applicants must first file a letter of intent through the Clean Energy Infrastructure Funding Opportunity eXCHANGE. A public webinar will be held at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.

Information About Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credits: The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 made the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history. This enabled the United States to tackle the climate crisis, secure its position as a world leader in clean energy manufacturing, advance environmental justice, and put it on a pathway to achieving a net-zero-emission economy by 2050. The federal tax credits outline on this webpage provide a significant opportunity for hydropower, pumped storage hydropower, and marine energy projects.

DOE Announces $50 Million to Boost Clean Energy Solutions and Cut Costs for Rural America: As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, DOE announced $50 million in new grant funding made available for community-based energy projects located in rural and remote areas across the country. The submission deadline for pre-applications is July 13, 2023 and full applications are due by October 12, 2023.

Catfish, Cake Mix, and a Century of Clean Energy: When the Bowersock Mills & Power Company drained the water in its hydropower facility to begin a major rehabilitation of the South Powerhouse, the team expected to find a few fish at the bottom of the dam. But when the water was nearly drained, they were shocked to see just how many large catfish had made their homes at the bottom of the facility. Now, the plant is back up and running, providing enough energy to power about 3,500 homes in northeast Kansas, and the catfish have found a home in the newly built habitat right next to the facility. Learn more about this rehabilitation project, which was made possible with support from DOE’s Hydroelectric Production Incentives.

Meet a Clean Energy Champion: WPTO's Acting Hydropower Manager: WPTO Acting Hydropower Manager Corey Vezina always knew that he wanted to work in renewable energy, but just doing research didn’t feel like enough to him. By working in public service, Vezina felt he could have the opportunity to contribute to research while supporting implementation of science and technology. See what working in public service and being a clean energy champion means to him.

WPTO Director Jennifer Garson Discusses the Current State and Future of U.S. Hydropower on the Volts Podcast: WPTO Director Jennifer Garson joined David Roberts of the Volts podcast to discuss the state of hydropower and marine energy in the United States and where these industries are heading. The pair discussed how pumped storage hydropower stores energy, how opportunities could modernize and upgrade the current hydropower fleet, and how small hydropower facilities have a key role to play in the clean energy transition.

Swim Up and Learn About the Fish Passage Portal: The Federal Interagency Fish Passage Portal was created as a resource for anyone who needs information, funding, or technical assistance to improve fish passage and aquatic connectivity projects. The portal provides landowners and public lands managers with the tools they need to access fish passage resources across the federal government.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Scientist Studies How Climate Change Will Impact Hydropower Resources: Climate change often comes down to how it affects water as well as people and infrastructure, whether it is used for drinking, generates electricity, or causes flooding. To better understand these consequences of climate change, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) water resources engineer, Sudershan Gangrade, is integrating knowledge ranging from large-scale climate projects to local meteorology and hydrology data. Gangrade and his team are using high-performance computing to create a holistic view of the future.

Irrigation Systems Reimagined: A New Decision Support Tool: Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is seeking an Idaho irrigation district to join the study of a new software tool that supports irrigation modernization devices. The software developed by INL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), is designed to support irrigation districts who are considering modernizing its system.

New Report Outlines Opportunities for Advanced Manufacturing and Materials to Modernize the Hydropower Fleet: The Advanced Manufacturing and Materials for Hydropower: Challenges and Opportunities report, funded by WPTO and published by ORNL, discusses the potential to use advanced manufacturing and materials to modernize the existing hydropower fleet and enable designs for new hydropower technologies. The report found advanced manufacturing and materials could save costs as well as optimize hydropower system repairs and upgrades.

Hydrogen from Hydropower? It May Be Coming Sooner Than You Think: INL and PNNL have partnered with Idaho Power to evaluate the feasibility and advantages of making hydrogen at existing hydropower plants. Integrating hydrogen production with hydropower can enhance grid stability through energy storage, reoxygenate water for downstream environmental improvements, and support decarbonizing energy production in Idaho.

WPTO and ORNL Identify Limitations of Current Hydropower Carbon Tracking: Hydropower serves an important role in the electric grid and in the transition to a 100% clean energy grid. However, recent data has shown that current methods used to quantify the carbon footprint of hydropower facilities may be insufficient. ORNL staff has identified several limitations with current accounting, as well as suggestions for improving future assessments. Addressing and correcting these limitations is crucial to ensuring a stronger and clean electric grid.

WPTO Advances Hydropower Technologies to Support the Clean Energy Transition: From developing technologies that can help fish move safely through hydropower facilities to studying the effects of drought on hydropower generation, WPTO-supported projects across the country are helping to advance the hydropower industry. Learn more about these projects and more in WPTO’s 2021–2022 accomplishments report.

International Energy Agency Releases New Report on Managing Seasonal and Interannual Variability of Renewables: A new report from the International Energy Agency highlights the importance of hydropower facilities in providing flexible and reliable power for a clean energy grid. The study confirms that a mix of flexible resources is needed to manage variability across a 100% renewable energy grid. The study also found that systems with a very high level of variable renewables will require seasonal flexibility services.

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Waterpower Week may be over, but this event is still making waves 🌊!

Check out our highlights to see the winners of the 2023 Hydropower and Marine Energy Collegiate Competition. Endicott College won the Hydropower Competition and the University of New Hampshire won the Marine Energy Competition.

Water power researchers: Apply for our new $45 million funding opportunity to help advance tidal and current energy development in the United States.

Take a peek into the future of renewable energy:

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