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DOE OSTI2022

1.4.2.403 - Water Power STEM Workforce Development (Hydro)

As interest in renewable energy grows, water power technologies will continue to play a robust and growing role. However, the industry needs new talent to spur innovation and to support industry needs. With one-quarter of the domestic hydropower workforce retiring in the coming decade, the need to fill the workforce pipeline has never been more critical. The lack of new hydropower development has limited the number of educational programs focused on this sector at all levels of education. NREL has a long track record of working to address educational needs across the renewable energy spectrum. Leveraging this track record, this project brought the Hydropower STEM Portal to water power stakeholders fueled by information from a multitude of sectors, our partnership with the Hydropower Foundation, NEED, and others. The team has also sought to integrate activities with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, to increase dissemination opportunities and interfaces. The purpose of the portal is to be a one-stop shop to information geared at inspiring the next-generation water power professional. NREL also leverages experience in engaging with stakeholders to understand barriers to technology adoption to identify issues and drivers, provide feedback to the R&D community, work to clarify misperceptions, and inform decisions to facilitate market adoption. The outcome of this work is a more successful and diverse water power industry based on a motivated and better-trained workforce.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Exploring sustainable electricity system development pathways in South America’s MERCOSUR sub-region

South America has abundant natural water and energy resources, and exploiting these resources to achieve a clean energy future is central to the continent’s economic and sustainable development objectives for the next several decades. Designing pathways to achieving this clean energy future requires better understanding the structural, techno-economic, and policy forces that may influence the future development of the electricity sector in the region. Here, we focus on an interconnected electricity system of five South American countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay – which represent major electricity generation, consumption, and trade dynamics in the region. We explore the implications of various forces that could shape the future composition of the power sector in the sub-region, including: evolving renewable energy cost and performance, natural gas prices, cross-border interconnection facilities, early retirement of installed hydropower, and different decarbonization goals. We use a model framework based on a power system planning platform (GridPath) to co-optimize investment and operations of generation, storage, and transmission facilities out to 2050. Our results in a Reference scenario indicate that the electricity system can maintain a relatively clean energy portfolio by leveraging existing hydropower capacity and integrating increasingly cost-competitive wind and solar power. However, dependence on natural gas in the region is likely to remain high. A low-carbon electricity system can cost-effectively be achieved through policy interventions (e.g., renewable portfolio standards) and by diversifying investments in wind, solar, battery storage, and some new hydropower capacity. We also find that existing hydropower is critical for maintaining reliable future grid operations. Enhanced regional electricity trade, mostly based on existing interconnection capacities with nominal investment in new transmission, can significantly benefit the clean energy transition in the region.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Effects of Climate Change on Interregional Electricity Market Dynamics on the U.S. West Coast

The United States (U.S.) West Coast power system is strongly influenced by variability and extremes in air temperatures (which drive electricity demand) and streamflows (which constrain hydropower production). As hydroclimate changes across the West Coast, a combination of forces may work in tandem to make its bulk power system more vulnerable to physical reliability issues and market price shocks. In particular, a warmer climate is expected to increase summer cooling (electricity) demands and shift the average timing of peak streamflow (hydropower production) away from summer to the spring and winter, depriving power systems of hydropower when it is needed the most. Here, we investigate how climate change could alter interregional electricity market dynamics on the West Coast, including the potential for hydroclimatic changes in one region (e.g. Pacific Northwest (PNW)) to “spill over” and cause price and reliability risks in another (e.g. California). We find that the most salient hydroclimatic risks for the PNW power system are changes in streamflow, while risks for the California system are driven primarily by changes in summer air temperatures, especially extreme heat events that increase peak system demand. Altered timing and amounts of hydropower production in the PNW do alter summer power deliveries into California but show relatively modest potential to impact prices and reliability there. Instead, it is future climate conditions (extreme heat) in California that may exert a stronger significant influence on prices and reliability in the PNW, especially if California continues to rely on its northern neighbor for imported power to meet higher summer demands.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modeling the Water Systems of the Western US to Support Climate‐Resilient Electricity System Planning

Abstract Electricity and water systems in the Western US (WUS) are closely connected, with hydropower comprising 20% of total annual WUS generation, and electricity related to water comprising about 7% of total WUS electricity use. Because of these interdependencies, the threat of climate change to WUS resources will likely have compounding electricity impacts on the Western Interconnect grid. This study describes a WUS‐wide water system model with a particular emphasis on estimating climate impacts on hydropower generation and water‐related electricity use, which can be linked with a grid expansion model to support climate‐resilient electricity planning. The water system model combines climatically‐driven physical hydrology and management of both water supply and demand allocation, and is applied to an ensemble of 15 climate scenarios out to 2050. Model results show decreasing streamflow in key basins of the WUS under most scenarios. Annual water‐related electricity use increases up to 4%, and by up to 6% during the summer months, driven by growing agricultural demands met increasingly through a shift toward energy‐intensive groundwater to replace declining surface water. Total annual hydropower generation changes by +5% to −20% by mid‐century but declines in most scenarios, with decreases in summer generation by up to nearly −30%. Water‐related electricity use increases tend to coincide with hydropower generation declines, annually and seasonally, demonstrating the importance of concurrently evaluating the climate signal on both water‐for‐energy and energy‐for‐water to inform planning for grid reliability and decarbonization goals.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cybersecurity Value-at-Risk Framework

As more variable renewable energy sources are added to the grid, the role of hydropower as a reliable baseline and firming resource is growing more critical. However, the U.S hydropower fleet is not fully prepared to face modern issues such as cybersecurity threats. Hydropower accounts for 37% of U.S. utility-scale renewable electricity but is challenged by diverse infrastructure and legacy devices that predate modern security practices. While new cybersecurity solutions cannot simply be added to current hydropower generation and operation technologies, custom cybersecurity assessments can reveal system-specific threats and risk probabilities and identify mitigating enhancements.

cybersecurity valuation methodology↗
DOE OSTI2023

Advanced Compact Generation Module with Fish Safe Runner Technology

Hydropower is an important contributor of stable, load-leveling renewable energy to our national grid. Increasingly, the development of new hydropower facilities or the retrofit of existing ones hinges not only on minimizing costs but also environmental impact. In this report, the analysis and testing of a modular and scalable low-head hydropower generation design using Natel Energy’s Restoration Hydro Turbine is described. This design leverages many established industry approaches for compactness and efficiency while simultaneously allowing for safe downstream fish passage through the turbines themselves. This unique approach reduces overall hydropower facility costs and enables a simpler inclusive method of project design and operation. To assess this design, mechanical and fluid computational analyses were used to study and optimize key parameters. Passage tests of important migratory species (salmonids, American eel) were conducted through representative turbines. The unique propeller geometry of the fish-safe Restoration Hydro Turbine was subjected to detailed design and testing using advanced manufacturing composite techniques. Comprehensive module cost models were developed and assessed alongside hydraulic efficiency. The results of this project show promising and economical applications for downstream passage offish through Restoration Hydro Turbine modules.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cataloging and Quantifying Value Streams from Non-Powered Dam Conversion

Hydropower is a key resource in the United States’ renewable energy transition; however, only 3% of existing dams in the United States currently generate electricity. While many non-powered dams (NPDs) have the potential for energy generation, hydropower addition to these dams has been slow. This is likely due, in part, to perceptions that hydropower development has prohibitively long payback periods, especially in comparison to other renewable energy resources that have shorter development processes. On the other hand, powering some NPDs may unlock new value streams in addition to the value obtained from selling generated energy. There is a need to understand and quantify a wider range of additional value streams to help increase the feasibility of such hydropower projects. In this work, we catalog indirect value streams and difficult-to-quantify direct value streams from NPD retrofitting, specifying which stakeholders are affected, and what kind of impacts (positive or negative) might occur. We identify appropriate quantification methodologies for these indirect value streams and describe the best practices around their implementation for NPD site-level analysis. We also demonstrate the quantification of a few indirect value streams for a selected NPD site, allowing for easier integration of these value streams into future studies by providing basis and background for quantifying these elements.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Deep Learning for Fish Identification from Sonar Data (CRADA 481 Final Report)

In eastern regions of the United States, the American eel is a species of management and regulatory concern because of significant population declines, despite the species’ previous abundance in all tributaries of rivers flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. The American eel is also a candidate for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. While hydropower construction and operation are only one of several factors contributing to this population decline, such a listing could impose additional regulatory challenges for a large number of hydropower projects. In this CRADA project, we improved technologies for identifying migrating eels with the goal of reducing the cost and time required for future American eel hydropower impact assessment and mitigation studies, while maintaining accuracy. We built on results from a previous FOA project (FOA# DE-FOA-0001662), led by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which developed a highly accurate, deep-learning method for identifying migrating eels from imaging sonar data. The current study aimed to further optimize this deep-learning model, originally designed for image classification, and to develop an object detection software capable of identifying fish from sonar videos in real time, enabling the detection of events like fish migrations and specific species, such as the American eel, at hydropower dams. The data conversion algorithms were packaged as software with a graphical user interface, and the software is evaluated by external collaborators. We focused on the American eel in this project and explored the transferability of the developed deep learning models to the sea lamprey, given the similar body shape and swimming behavior between the two species.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

SCRES Energy Quest Workshop (Technical Report)

Energy Quest: Sitka’s Path to 2050 is a game based public engagement tool developed as part of the Sitka Community Renewable Energy Strategy and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project Cohort 3. Designed for Sitka’s isolated island microgrid, which is powered primarily by hydropower and depends on imported diesel for backup, the game translated complex long term energy planning questions into an interactive format. In facilitated workshops, residents built energy roadmaps to 2050, explored tradeoffs, and expressed priorities around four themes: affordability, reliability, self sufficiency, and innovation. Across sessions, participants showed strong support for increasing local self sufficiency and resilience, even when this required balancing near term affordability with long term investments. They emphasized reducing dependence on imported diesel, making better use of existing hydropower, and considering new renewable generation such as solar, wind, and additional hydropower. Survey and game responses also highlighted interest in using surplus hydropower to support new industries, expanding electrification of heating and transportation, and exploring emerging technologies and green fuels. The report organizes these findings into four scenario themes to guide Sitka’s 2050 energy planning. Affordability focuses on managing rate impacts, efficiency, and conservation. Reliability addresses diversified generation, backup power, and energy security. Self sufficiency emphasizes distributed generation and reduced reliance on imported fuels. Innovation explores new technologies, marine based energy solutions, and low carbon fuels. By grounding future planning in these community derived themes, Energy Quest shows how a game based approach can make technical energy planning more accessible and inclusive for remote communities. For questions about the game board and piece production email Dr. Sarah Troise (sarah.troise@pnnl.gov)

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Basin-Scale Relicensing Opportunity

This dataset contains 1,261 hydropower facilities with associated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing metrics. Anticipated FERC license renewal dates are summarized by river reach for observing areas of opportunities for basin-wide collaboration on environmental mitigations. Identifying rivers and basins with facilities that have similar anticipated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing dates may be one potential indicator that multiple licensees within the same basin may be willing to collaborate on a basin-scale relicensing effort. The hydropower relicensing process requires long-term resource allocation by agencies, hydropower owner/operators, non-governmental organizations, and tribal, state, and federal governments. Basin-scale hydropower relicensing has begun to receive attention as a potential solution for reducing licensing timelines, costs, and uncertainty which can provide benefits to a broad spectrum of participants in the licensing process. This dataset contains one a data file in comma separated (*.csv) format, a data dictionary in *.csv format, and a user guide in *.pdf format. These data are also available as an interactive web map available at:

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cybersecurity Value-at-Risk Framework: Preprint

As more variable renewable energy sources are added to the grid, the critical role of hydropower as a reliable baseline and firming resource is rapidly growing. However, the U.S hydropower fleet is not fully prepared to face modern issues such as cybersecurity threats. Hydropower accounts for 37% of U.S. utility-scale renewable electricity but is challenged by diverse infrastructure and legacy devices that predate modern security practices. While new cybersecurity solutions cannot simply be added to current hydropower generation and operation technologies, custom cybersecurity assessments can reveal system-specific threats and risk probabilities and identify mitigating enhancements.

cybersecurity valuation↗
DOE OSTI2023

Estimating the economic value of hydropeaking externalities in regulated rivers

Hydropower is a flexible form of electricity generation providing both baseload and balancing power to accommodate intermittent renewables in the energy mix. However, hydropower also generates various externalities. This study investigates individuals' preferences for policies aiming to reduce short-term regulations (i.e., hydropeaking in regulated rivers) while accounting for associated externalities with a discrete choice experiment. This is the first valuation study focusing on hydropeaking that considers both negative and positive externalities. The results imply that most individuals prefer stronger restrictions on short-term regulations to mitigate local environmental impacts. Individuals especially value improvements in recreational use, fish stocks, and the ecological state. On the other hand, potential increases in CO 2 emissions are linked with a clear disutility. The estimated benefits obtained from an improved state of the river environment due to such restrictions exceed the disutility caused by increased CO 2 emissions. Furthermore, the results also reveal unobserved preference heterogeneity among individuals, which should be accounted for in the willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimation using a model specification with correlated utility coefficients. Overall, the findings can inform policy-makers and environmental managers on the economic value of hydropeaking externalities and further guide the sustainable management of rivers regulated for hydropower generation.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Modelling the Value of Networked, Small-Hydro Generators for Storage and Dispatch Capability on the Grid

Natel Energy, Inc. (Natel), Alameda, California, has developed a new type of fish-friendly, low-head hydropower turbine, the hydroEngine (R), that is designed to provide reliable, dispatchable power and ancillary services at significantly reduced civil works costs. For the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Small Business Voucher for Hydropower, Third Round, Natel and NREL will model and evaluate the potential value streams of a portfolio of networked small hydropower generators. The project is designed to advance the understanding of the value of small hydro generation to the grid of the future. It will help support dialog with potential customers and stakeholders regarding the value of the Natel's technologies and inform future R&D efforts in this area.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Harnessing the Hydroelectric Potential of Engineered Drops (Final Technical Report)

The potential for low-head hydropower in the engineered drops in both federal and private irrigation system is well known and significant. The environmental and socio/recreational impacts of harnessing this renewable energy resource in man-made conduits are much less, and often insignificant, compared with comparable hydro-electric potential in natural water features on rivers, lakes, and streams. Yet, few new plants have been commissioned in more than two decades. Over the same time period, low head hydro installations in Germany have more than doubled. The challenge is in finding economical ways to harness the hydro-electric potential in the engineered drops, and efficiently deliver the power to the grid. The objectives of Percheron Power, LLC's (Percheron Power) Project were to design, develop, permit, and operate an innovative low-head hydro-electric generation facility on an existing engineered drop of a large irrigation canal system. The hydro-electric generation facility was designed to employ a new type of turbine and technology, called an Archimedes Hydrodynamic Screw (AHS), to harness the existing potential of the engineered drop. The goal was to demonstrate the new lower cost AHS technology system to federal agencies, irrigation districts and other system owners and to support further development of new small hydropower projects at previously marginal low-head sites in the U.S. The objective of this funding opportunity of the Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office was to reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for small hydropower to less than ${$}$0.07/kWh (${$}$70/MWh) to be competitive with existing base-load power sources such as coal-powered power plants.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Prefabricated Zero Ascend Omnispecies (ZAO) Modular Fish Passage Modules Using Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

The Zero Ascend Omnispecies (ZAO) fish passage attraction module “ZAO Attractor” is a novel system designed to facilitate upstream passage for a broad spectrum of fish species, with a particular focus on American shad and river herring (alewife and/or blueback herring). Combining the use of prefabricated, modular components with advanced manufacturing, the ZAO aims to provide a cost-effective and scalable solution for fish passage attractions across various hydropower sites. The system features a surface level entry, so fish do not need to climb. In addition, it is designed to be adjusted and repositioned to create the most effective attraction flows by managing the outflows from hydropower turbines. Budget Period 1 (BP1) focused on the design and modeling of the ZAO Attractor and demonstrated the engineering feasibility of a modular, prefabricated, hydrodynamically efficient structure with surface level entry and passage. It was discovered that there were limited published studies on the direct correlation between quantified flow patterns and fish attraction, emphasizing the need for controlled studies to observe and measure these effects. In Budget Period 2 (BP2), controlled studies with live fish were prioritized to address these complexities. In conclusion, the ZAO fish passage attraction module presents a promising approach to fish passage at hydropower stations, with the potential to balance environmental concerns with renewable energy development. However, further field validation and optimization are necessary to ensure its effectiveness and practicality in real-world applications.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Small Hydro Power Plants with Integrated BESS for Enhance Resiliency

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are an important asset for power systems with high integration levels of renewable energy, and they can be controlled to provide various services to the grid. This paper presents the hardware demonstration and characterization of using a utility-scale BESS with grid-following (GFL) and grid-forming (GFM) controls and a run-of-river (ROR) hydropower plant to perform a bottom-up power system black start that enhances power systems' resiliency. ROR hydropower plants are generally not used for power system restoration due to their frequency instability during islanded operation; however, BESS with droop control can provide critical damping to convert a ROR hydropower generator into a black start- capable unit. To demonstrate this, we carry out hardware experiments at the megawatt-scale integrating a synchronous generator driven by a dynamometer, an actual GFL/GFM BESS, a medium-voltage impedance network, and a load bank. The demonstration shows the different roles of BESS with GFL and GFM control in power system restoration. GFL BESS can suffer from high-frequency oscillations, even instability, depending on the droop control gain and loading condition. The results provide further insights for system operators on how GFL- or GFM controlled BESS can enhance grid stability and how hydro-BESS hybrids can operate as a black-start-capable unit. The presented experimental results are also a valuable resource to understand the different stability characteristics of real-world BESS with different control modes.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2024

Multitemporal landslide inventory and susceptibility map for the Arun River Basin, Nepal

The transboundary Arun River Basin (ARB) spreads across Nepal and Tibet. Nearly 95% of the basin lies in Tibet through which the Pumqu River flows, forming the Arun River once it enters Nepal. The ARB has five large hydropower projects undergoing construction or planned for the future. Rainfall and earthquake-induced landslides, landslide dammed lakes and landslide-induced glacial lake outburst floods pose major risks to smooth operation of these projects. To safeguard upcoming hydropower projects, areas susceptible to landslides in the ARB must be identified. We used high-resolution satellite imagery and open-source tools to generate a multitemporal landslide inventory for the basin. The rigorously quality-controlled inventory represents a yearly record of landslides from 2011 to 2020. A data-driven approach was used to map areas susceptible to landslides within the ARB. The multitemporal landslide inventory combined with other readily available Earth observation-based variables were used to create a landslide susceptibility map. The susceptibility analysis provides a valuable initial estimate of where landslides are likely to initiate. These landslide products could form the basis of more comprehensive local studies to inform hydropower project development.

Arun River Basin↗
DOE OSTI2021

Informing Cybersecurity Decisions With the Value-at-Risk Framework

Security at every site is critical to making hydropower a strong contributor to the country's grid, but with ongoing development and expanding capabilities, the diversity of the existing hydropower fleet makes across-the-board investment decisions difficult. The threat of cyberattacks naturally increases as the interconnection of Information Technology and Operational Technology networks broadens. Hydropower plants require custom analyses that are specific to the unique challenges and characteristics of any given facility. Facilities, however, often do not have the necessary resources for managers to make informed decisions on investments based on assessed capabilities and risks.

50 EE - Wind and Water Power Program - Water (EE-4↗