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Announcements
WPTO and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) opened a new technical collaboration opportunity for industry partners interested in developing innovative hydropower technologies using advanced materials and manufacturing. This opportunity, which leverages the lab's existing technical collaboration program, will provide selected participants with access to DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. It will allow companies to validate and refine untested ideas and experiment with novel approaches to enhance the performance and sustainability of hydropower technologies without committing extensive resources. Interested applicants must submit a brief concept abstract (using the provided template), and proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis until funds are expended.
Northern Arizona University was the overall winner of the 2024 Hydropower Collegiate Competition, followed by Johns Hopkins University in second place and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in third place. The competition, funded by WPTO and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), asked multidisciplinary student teams to tackle common challenges in hydropower, giving them real-world exposure to the industry and a head start in a clean energy career. This year, teams developed solutions to add power-generating infrastructure to existing non-powered dams.
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As acting director, Grosso leads strategy, management, and the execution of WPTO's $200 million annual budget as the office works to advance research, development, and demonstration of hydropower and marine energy technologies. He brings more than three decades of public sector experience, including eight years leading WPTO's operations, and aims to foster collaboration with clean energy leaders within and outside of government.
MESC recently published an RFI on clean energy supply chain data and analysis methods. This is an opportunity for industry and other stakeholders, including those in the hydropower sector, to highlight specific supply chain gaps, vulnerabilities, and/or challenges impacting various components of clean energy technologies. MESC seeks responses from manufacturers in the clean energy supply chain, end-use developers, labor unions, supply chain researchers, and other relevant stakeholders, and will use the responses to create a heatmap to assess investment opportunities across clean energy supply chains. Responses are due by 5 p.m. ET on June 10, 2024.
Applications are open for ETIPP, which provides technical assistance for remote and island communities to bolster energy resilience with tailored solutions. New this year, communities selected for technical assistance will also receive direct funding to support their time and engagement on the ETIPP project. Applications for the 2024 program are due July 10, 2024.
Project Updates and Stories
The latest edition of the "On the Road With WPTO" series explores team members' visits to the Pacific Northwest, a coastal city in the Netherlands, and other locations to meet with researchers, industry representatives, and others working in water power!
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Today's hydropower plants can benefit from leveraging modern technologies. Explore the answers to six questions about what hydropower modernization is, why it's important, and how DOE supports this work.
Renewable Energy Discovery (REDi) Island, an educational project funded by WPTO and created by NREL and IKM 3D, seeks to help students, teachers, and others learn about hydropower and marine energy. Its new interactive web app offers tours of water power waystations and provides information, resources, and curriculum ideas. With four waystations currently available and nine more coming soon, the project aims to engage the next generation and encourage participation in the expanding water power industry.
The team behind the Hydropower Vision Roadmap recently launched community highlights, a monthly showcase of local efforts that help advance the vision. With input from the hydropower sector, WPTO, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and the Hydropower Foundation created the roadmap to identify critical activities on the path to achieving a modern vision for hydropower by 2050. Check out the showcased hydropower research and innovations helping to make the vision a reality, and submit efforts to be featured.
NREL researchers developed a new modeling and analysis framework to understand how changes in climate and water supplies might impact the power grid. The framework, which is also behind a new open-source visualization tool, could help grid planners as well as hydropower and thermal power plant operators mitigate any detrimental impacts caused by limited water supplies, flood hazards, changing river flows, and more.
Determining when and how much water to spill through dams for fish passage while meeting grid needs is critically important. Recent PNNL research highlights the complex dynamics around spill and fish passage through dams, finding that spill is not always the biggest factor in successful fish passage.
A new NREL video explains why hydropower is key to a resilient and reliable power grid. As the country adds more variable renewable energy resources to the grid, hydropower can help it remain reliable. Hydropower resources can also help the grid weather superstorms, cyberattacks, and other external threats. Watch the video to learn more about hydropower's heroics and its supportive NREL sidekicks.
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Explore Fish Passage Technologies and How They Support Hydropower's Sustainability
The hydropower sector has a duty to balance high-performing engineering with environmental protections that ensure the long-term sustainability of natural resources and ecosystems. Dams, diversions, and culverts can restrict fish migration and access to habitats needed to complete their life cycles. WPTO and other entities have made significant investments in research, development, and testing of numerous fish passage technologies to help fish and other aquatic species navigate hydropower facilities safely while reducing environmental impact. Learn about these innovative technologies in a recent WPTO article, as well as a video from Practical Engineering that features PNNL's fish passage science.
In a recent article, NREL experts answered some common questions about hydropower, the oldest form of renewable energy. Explore why it's important to talk about hydropower, why hydropower is an essential renewable energy resource, and some of the latest technologies.
PNNL recently initiated the Training Outreach and Recruitment for Cybersecurity in Hydropower (TORCH) program at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). UTEP is the first university to implement TORCH, a program funded by WPTO. The partnership between TORCH and UTEP was highlighted in multiple outlets, including International Water Power & Dam Construction, Hydro Review, and Power Engineering International.
Events
WPTO and National Laboratory Events
WPTO Hydropower Environmental and Industry R&D Summit Talk – Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Hydropower Operations
Tomorrow, May 16, 1–3 p.m. ET, Virtual
On Thursday, May 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. ET, WPTO will host the first of three Hydropower Environmental and Industry R&D Summit Talks on greenhouse gas emissions and hydropower operations. The webinar is an opportunity to clarify the challenge space, as presented by industry and others, and will feature practitioners and researchers on the state of the science and how said science can address industry's challenges.
In Case You Missed It
WPTO and NREL released a hydropower career map that will help anyone interested in a clean energy career to easily identify pathways to a wide variety of well-paying jobs in the hydropower industry. The map demonstrates the breadth of technical and nontechnical jobs available to workers of all skill levels and at all career stages, with the goal of strengthening the hydropower industry workforce pipeline to help achieve clean energy goals.
An NREL report provides a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities and risks for investing in small to medium-sized hydropower and pumped storage hydropower projects. Among other findings, the report found that medium-sized projects offer significant opportunities for low-impact hydropower development, and new technology innovations and the variety of sites on which hydropower could be developed present potential opportunities for future investment.
ORNL researchers are working to accurately estimate the greenhouse gas emissions from different energy sources, including hydropower reservoirs. By collecting data from reservoirs across five southeastern states, researchers are working to better understanding how seasonal variations, algae growth, reservoir operations, and many other factors may impact emissions. Establishing consistent practices and measurements is an essential first step to determining the true impact of hydropower generation.
Earlier this year, DOE's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) announced $29.9 million for two projects aimed at advancing the manufacturing of large metallic components for renewable power systems. One of the projects, selected to receive $15 million from AMMTO and WPTO, aims to fabricate full-scale runners for a specific type of hydropower turbine called a Francis turbine, halve the existing lead time of this manufacturing process to enable more efficient domestic hydropower production, and achieve several other objectives.
Social Spotlight
Calling remote and island communities! The U.S. Department of Energy invites you to apply for tailored technical assistance through the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project to transform your energy systems and bolster energy resilience.
Learn more and apply by July 10: https://www.energy.gov/.../doe-calls-remote-and-island...
#ETIPP
Follow along on the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook channels for more water power content each week.
Making a Splash in the News
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ABS & DOE Sign MOU To Collaborate on Clean Energy Development and Maritime Decarbonization Research, BIC Magazine Online, April 22, 2024
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DOE's Plan for a Resilient Power Grid, Environment + Energy Leader, Staff Writer, April 19, 2024
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The (In)Visible Plastic Pollution Problem, NREL, Anna Nixon, April 18, 2024
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U.S. Hydropower Generation Expected To Increase by 6% in 2024 Following Last Year's Lows, EIA, Staff Writer, April 18, 2024
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Grosso Named Acting Director of U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office, Hydro Review, Elizabeth Ingram, April 17, 2024
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Native American Voices Are Finally Factoring Into Energy Projects – A Hydropower Ruling Is a Victory for Environmental Justice on Tribal Lands, The Conversation, Emily Benton Hite and Denielle Perry, April 17, 2024
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Do We Still Need Hydropower? CleanTechnica, April 16, 2024
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Is Hydropower Aging Out of the Clean Energy Race? Anthropocene Magazine, Mark Harris, April 14, 2024
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