Are there any significant hydro projects in development in the U.S.? Where? What is the timeline?

The DOE Hydropower Program

Yes, the DOE maintains the Hydropower Program, and the mission is to develop, conduct, and coordinate research and development with industry and other Federal agencies to improve the technical, societal, and environmental benefits of hydropower. The Hydropower Program is organized under the DOE Office of Wind and Hydropower Technologies in Washington, DC, and the three DOE National Laboratories with experience in hydropower issues, that are providing technical support to the Program include: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).[1]

DOE Advanced Hydropower Technology (AHT) Activity

The DOE also maintains the Advanced Hydropower Technology (AHT) activity, which supports the development of technologies that will enable existing hydropower projects to generate more electricity with less environmental impact. The DOE asserts that this will be done by:

1. Developing new turbine systems that have improved overall performance
2. Developing new methods to optimize hydropower operations at the unit, plant, and reservoir system levels
3. Conducting research to improve the effectiveness of the environmental mitigation practices required at hydropower projects.

The primary objective of DOE's research into AHT is to develop new system designs and operation modes that will enable both better environmental performance and competitive generation of electricity. While DOE does not own or operate hydropower projects itself, the products of DOE's research will allow hydropower projects to generate cleaner electricity. The noted DOE-sponsored projects are expected to develop and demonstrate new equipment and operational techniques that will optimize water-use efficiency, increase generation, and improve environmental performance and mitigation practices at existing plants.[2]

DOE Advanced Hydropower Turbine System (AHTS) Program

The DOE maintains the Advanced Hydropower Turbine System (AHTS) Program, to develop technology that will allow the nation to maximize the use of its hydropower resources while minimizing adverse environmental effects. Many turbine reports are available at the DOE: http://hydropower.id.doe.gov/turbines/index.shtml.

Program Objectives

The following research efforts are designed to contribute to the success of these objectives:

• Testing a new generation of large turbines in the field to demonstrate that these turbines are commercially viable, compatible with today's environmental standards, capable of balancing environmental, technical, operational, and cost considerations.
• Developing new tools to improve water use efficiency and operations optimization within hydropower units, plants and river systems with multiple hydropower facilities.
• Identifying improved practices that can be applied at hydropower plants to mitigate for environmental effects of hydro development and operation.[3]

Research Activities

Three sets of research projects are being supported under Advanced Hydropower Technology include Large Turbine Testing, Water Use/Operations Optimization, and Improved Mitigation Practices.[4]

Research by Theresa Pipher