DOE announces more than $200M to modernize, expand hydroelectric power
In a bid to advance new marine energy technologies and bolster hydropower in the United States, the Department of Energy (DOE) this week announced more than $200 million will go to modernization, expansion, and development efforts.
This will be made possible through the Hydroelectric Incentives Program, which is itself supported by funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Through it, DOE will accept applications for two hydroelectric incentives, specifically.
“Water power is the nation’s oldest source of renewable energy and an integral part of the suite of clean energy solutions that we must continue to deploy in our fight against climate change,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “The President’s clean energy agenda is providing the investments necessary to further grow and improve existing hydropower fleets while supporting the next wave of water power technologies, ensuring a steady flow of cheap and reliable power to more Americans.”
Currently, hydropower provides a small but solid portion of electricity in the United States: 6 percent. However, the DOE noted that less than 3 percent of the more than 90,000 dams across the country currently produce such power. One of its major initiatives, therefore, is to add generation equipment to these untapped sites, which it estimated could add up to 12 GW of renewable hydropower capacity.
The two new incentives include up to $125 million through the Hydroelectric Production Incentives program and another $75 million up for grabs through the Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentives. Funds from the former will go to qualified hydroelectric facilities for electricity generated and sold in 2021 and 2022, while the latter will invest its share into the implementation of capital improvements to boost the efficiency of hydroelectric facilities.
Other investments will supplement these efforts, including $2.3 million being awarded through a competitive novel technology push to harness and convert the power of ocean waves into usable energy, through the Innovating Distributed Embedded Energy Prize. The DOE has also launched several college-focused programs, including the Hydropower Collegiate Competition and Marine Energy Collegiate Competition to aid undergraduate and graduate students prepare for jobs in the industry, and the Marine Energy Graduate Student Research Program, which will help five students research and advance knowledge and development of marine energy resources in partnership with DOE’s national labs, as well as federal and industry partners.
All of this represents another angle for the DOE under the Biden administration to pursue a goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035.
