DOE awards nearly $25M for innovative hydropower projects

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $24.9 million to four projects that will increase the ability of hydropower to serve as a flexible grid resource.

The projects were in four areas — hydropower operational flexibility, low-head hydropower, and in-stream hydrokinetic technologies, advancing wave energy device design, and marine energy centers research infrastructure upgrades.

“Hydropower is a valuable national resource, and these technologies will make it an even more competitive clean energy option to invest in the Blue Economy,” DOE Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes said. “These awards are another example of this Administration reaffirming its commitment to an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy policy to the benefit of the entire nation.”

The awards in the area of hydropower operational flexibility went to Electric Power Research Institute, General Electric, the University of California, Irvine, and Stevens Institute of Technology. The projects here will quantify the flexible capabilities of hydropower and advance operational strategies to increase the flexibility to serve the grid better.

In the low-head hydropower and in-stream hydrokinetic technologies area, the awards went to Percheron Power, Natel Energy, Littoral Power Systems, the University of Minnesota, Ocean Renewable Power Co., ABB Inc., and Purdue University. These projects will focus on the development of two types of technologies—standard modular hydropower (SMH) and current energy converters (CECs). CEC technologies extract kinetic energy from rivers without the need for a dam or diversion, while SMH technologies use dams or other structures with turbines to generate power.

Awards in the third area — advancing wave energy device design – went to Columbia Power Technologies, CalWave Power Technologies, IDOM, Inc., and Stevens Institute of Technology. These projects will drive performance improvements in WEC devices in preparation for open-water testing, where wave energy has the greatest energy capture potential.

Finally, in the fourth area, marine energy centers research infrastructure upgrades, three companies were awarded, including the Pacific Marine Energy Center, Hawaii National Marine Renewable Energy Center, and Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center. These projects will upgrade infrastructure at existing National Marine Renewable Energy Centers (NMRECs) to enable broader industry access.