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Looking for more detailed information on the latest funding opportunities and events related to water power? Subscribe to The Water Wire! Find the next issue in your inbox on Dec. 13, 2023.
Announcements
WPTO Opens $9.5 Million Funding Opportunity to Enhance Hydropower Flexibility: WPTO opened a $9.5 million funding opportunity that aims to strengthen hydropower’s ability to support an electric grid with an increasing amount of variable renewable energy resources. WPTO anticipates making between four and seven awards under this opportunity, and individual awards may vary between $750,000 and $4 million. WPTO will host an informational webinar on Nov. 30, 2023 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Applicants must submit a concept paper by 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 18, 2024.
Last Chance to Win Cash in Water Power Photo and Video Contest: WPTO launched its Make a Splash Photo and Video Contest to highlight the significance of water power technologies, including hydropower, in the nation’s clean energy transition. This contest aims to visually show real-world water power technologies and the people contributing to and benefitting from them. Photographers and videographers of all skill levels—including professionals as well as everyday cellphone camera users—can submit their work across various categories for a chance to win cash prizes of up to $2,000 per category. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 17, 2023.
EnergyTech University Prize Provides Opportunity for Students and Faculty to Compete for Cash Prizes: The American-Made EnergyTech University Prize challenges student teams to identify a promising energy technology, assess its market potential, and create a business plan for commercialization. Starting in 2024, the EnergyTech University Prize will offer students and faculty the chance to compete in their own respective tracks. The deadline for faculty to submit their applications is Jan. 5, 2023. The deadline for students to submit their applications is Feb. 1, 2024.
WPTO Announces Winners in Final Phase of H2Os Prize: WPTO named four winners in the fourth and final phase of the Hydropower Operations Optimization (H2Os) Prize. The prize challenged innovators to upgrade hydropower technology using 21st century solutions, such as modeling and machine learning, with the goal of leveraging hydropower resources to improve the nation’s energy infrastructure and support a 100% clean energy grid. In the final phase, the teams participated in an in-person competition. They acted as river basin managers in a simulated system and competed to find the best water release schedules. The teams were also challenged to respond to an unexpected wildfire in the vicinity of the river basin. Linear Intelligence of Apex, North Carolina, was awarded the $25,000 grand prize.
DOE Announces 2023 Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship Cohort: DOE announced that 29 recent graduates and early-career energy professionals have been matched with critical energy organizations across 20 states and territories as part of the Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship. Fellows will receive on-the-job training and professional development opportunities while their hosts obtain support to accelerate the transition to clean electricity and improve grid resiliency.
Project Updates and Stories
Learn the Stories of Six Water Power Pioneers Who Are Fighting Climate Change: In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, WPTO featured six water power pioneers who shared their diverse backgrounds, journeys to water power, and how they are fighting climate change. These professionals discussed their current research projects, the importance of mentorship, and how diversity and inclusivity should continue to play a crucial role in the water power industry to make it more representative and effective in addressing global energy and environmental issues.
Unlocking Clean Energy Potential with Deployable, Scalable Hydropower: With support from WPTO, Emrgy has been working to harness the potential of existing waterways for clean energy generation. Emrgy’s technology utilizes standardized turbines placed along waterways, offering a decentralized and scalable approach to hydropower. This means that Emrgy can add additional turbines to areas as demand increases, allowing the grid to grow with its community. This innovative solution to hydropower helps provides sustainable energy to communities that may not be located near traditional hydropower resources.
PNNL Collaborates With International Researchers to Publish Roadmap for Water Power Research: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Rebecca O’Neil and Kostas Oikonomou collaborated with more than 40 international researchers to publish a collective technical report that provides a roadmap for future research at the water-energy nexus. The report is an initiative of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Power and Energy Society Task Force on Water-Power Systems, created in 2020 with support from WPTO, and offers extensive foundational knowledge and context on ways that water and energy systems are connected and interdependent.
New Renewable Energy Discovery Island Offers Virtual Tour of Water Power’s Potential: Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with funding from WPTO, the new Renewable Energy Discovery (REDi) Island gives educators, parents, and the public a virtual glimpse into marine energy and hydropower technologies. REDi Island is home to a number of hydropower waystation animations, such as Hydro Hollow and Hydro Heights, that demonstrate how hydropower contributes to a clean energy grid.
Researchers Develop Tool to Measure Hydropower Potential in United States: Researchers from the Idaho National Laboratory and PNNL developed the Non-Powered Dam Hydropower Development and Ranking Opportunity tool (NPD HYDRO V1) that allows users to evaluate and rank non-powered dams in the United States that may be suitable for conversion into hydropower generation facilities. With only three percent of the nation’s dams equipped to generate power, non-powered dams represent an untapped source of renewable energy. NPD HYDRO V1 allows users to assess and rank dams based on four benefit categories: grid, community, industry, and environment.
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Research Publications
NREL and Arizona State University Publish Guidance for How to Incorporate Energy and Environmental Justice Principles: NREL and Arizona State University published a paper that can serve as a resource for technology development program staff within and outside of DOE to use as they seek to incorporate energy and environmental justice (EEJ) principles into programs and portfolios. The report provides background information on EEJ principles, how those principles apply to foundational research and technology development through deployment and commercialization, and tangible and immediate steps that can be taken to infuse EEJ into ongoing programmatic efforts.
2023 Hydropower Market Report Highlights Latest Industry Developments: The fourth edition of the Hydropower Market Report combines the latest data from public, commercial, and DOE research and development projects to provide a comprehensive picture of developments in the U.S. hydropower and pumped storage hydropower (PSH) fleet and industry trends. The report indicates growing PSH investment internationally as well as interest in new PSH development domestically, a likely trend toward adding battery capacity to existing facilities, significant hydropower capacity growth from non-powered dam retrofits, and supply chain issues with turbine-generator units and steel castings. It also includes updates on development pipelines, permitting and relicensing activity, refurbishment and upgrade investments, and generation trends.
Events
WPTO Hydropower Flexibility FOA Informational Webinar
Nov. 30, 2023, 2:30–3:30 p.m. ET, Virtual
Join representatives from WPTO as they discuss their latest hydropower funding opportunity, focused on improving flexibility to support variable energy sources in a clean energy grid. The webinar will further detail the funding opportunity and provide more specifics on the areas of focus.
EnergyTech University Prize Webinars
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Dec. 5, 2023, 4–5 p.m. ET: Join this webinar to learn more about the competition, with a special focus on finding student teammates and faculty advisors as well as networking with peers who are excited about energy technologies and business development. The webinar will also provide a platform for participants to ask questions about the 2024 competition.
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Jan. 23, 2024, 4–5 p.m. ET: Join this recruitment webinar to get any remaining questions answered before competing in the EnergyTech University Prize ahead of the Feb. 1, 2024, student application deadline.
WPTO SBIR/STTR Topics Webinar – FY24 Phase I Release 2
Dec. 5, 1–2 p.m. ET, Virtual
Join representatives from WPTO to hear about the water-power-focused topics and subtopics in the Nov. 6, 2023, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs Phase I Release 2 for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). Questions may be submitted prior to the webinar to water.sbir@ee.doe.gov.
Energy Transition Summit
Feb. 5–8, 2024, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA
DOE’s Grid Modernization Initiative and the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response will host a summit focused on the Grid Modernization Initiative and clean energy cybersecurity. Attendees at both events will learn about opportunities to engage with DOE-led efforts that are modernizing the future power grid and enabling a more resilient, secure, and equitable energy transition. The events will feature thought leaders and working sessions to encourage a dialogue about strategies and roadmaps for future energy systems through partnerships and technology transition across government, industry, research organizations, and local communities.
The registration fee for the summit is $250 and details on how to register will be available soon. Additional information about the summit will be shared once it is available. Reach out to Energy_Transition_Summit@thebuildingpeople.com with questions about the summit.
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Clean Energy Cybersecurity (Feb. 5–8, 2024): DOE's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response will host an event focusing on fostering collaborative security solutions to enable a more resilient and equitable energy transition.
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Grid Modernization Initiative (Feb. 6–8, 2024): DOE's Grid Modernization Initiative will host an event focusing on creating the grid of the future to deliver resilient, reliable, flexible, secure, sustainable, and affordable electricity.
In Case You Missed It
Water Power Professionals Share Their Career Journeys: Everyone has a different journey to a career in water power. Some realize it is their passion from childhood while others find their love for the sector later on. Learn how three people found their career passion in water:
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Jonghwan Kwon and Quentin Ploussard: In honor of National STEM Day on Nov. 8, Argonne National Laboratory's Jonghwan Kwon and Quentin Ploussard shared why they chose to pursue STEM careers and their work with high school students.
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Sohom Datta: A passion literally forged from fire. After seeing wildfires devastate his home state of Oregon, PNNL's Sohom Datta decided to focus his work on how hydropower can support a clean energy grid and contribute to grid resilience during extreme events.
PNNL Unveils Roadmap for a Modern Hydropower Vision: Since the release of Hydropower Vision in 2016, DOE, PNNL, other national laboratories, and the Hydropower Foundation have engaged with the hydropower community to outline a set of goals and activities it wants to achieve by 2050, which led to the creation of the Hydropower Vision Roadmap. The roadmap details technical, economic, and institutional actions needed to optimize hydropower’s contribution to clean energy generation while preserving natural resources. More than 100 individuals across 14 sectors were engaged in the creation of the roadmap, ensuring that it represents the interests of the entire hydropower community.
Social Spotlight
WPTO on LinkedIn—Oct. 27, 2023
📸 I captured this shot of Bonneville Dam with my Pixel phone (#proudandroiduser) during an Oregon wedding trip. Our friends tied the knot with majestic Mount Hood in the background. During the drive back to Portland, my partner and I made a pitstop at the dam, exploring in our fancy wedding attire and amusing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff with our knowledge of fish ladders. 🐟 Share your own water power (#hydropower or #marineenergy) photos or videos and the stories behind them for a chance to win cash in the Department of Energy's Make a Splash Contest. Winning submissions can earn up to $2k per category, and it's possible to win multiple categories! 🌊💰 Don't miss out—the prize closes on November 17th! 📷💦 Click the link for more details: https://lnkd.in/gr8JA__v
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Making a Splash in the News
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