DOE taking applications for $600M in hydroelectric, marine energy funding

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it would accept applications for nearly $600 million in incentive payments to modernize hydroelectric power and marine energy.

As part of the Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure law, the DOE will provide $554 million in incentives to help ensure generators can continue to provide clean electricity while integrating additional renewable energy resources. Additionally, the DOE said, another $45 million in funding would be made available to support pilot programs for tidal and/or current energy projects in the United States.

The funding opportunities are the DOE’s largest-ever investments in hydropower and marine energy, the department said.

“Water power, the nation’s oldest source of renewable energy, is an integral tool to fight against climate change,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda provides historic funding that will expand and modernize water power technologies, ensuring a steady flow of reliable power to more Americans.”

The Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectric Incentives program would provide existing hydroelectric facilities with funding for capital improvements related to grid resilience, dam safety, and environmental improvements, the department said. Eligible improvements include those that integrate other resources, like wind and solar; as well as improvements like spillway upgrades, erosion repair, fish passages, and water quality improvements.

Additional funding for advancing tidal energy will support a community-led tidal and/or current energy planning and development project. The department will make available $35 million in funding for the development of a pilot tidal or current energy demonstration site in state waters and up to $10 million in funding for a tidal and/or current energy planning and development project.

Hydropower accounts for 6 percent of all electricity in the United States, the department said, and provides 32 percent of all renewable electricity generation and 93 percent of all utility-scale energy storage. However, many hydropower facilities are in need of repair and upgrades, and less than 3 percent of the country’s 90,000+ dams produce electricity, the department said. Adding generation equipment to the dams to don’t currently produce energy could add up to 12 GW of new hydropower to the U.S. electric system – estimated to be enough to power 4.8 million homes, the department said.