Water Power Successes in 2022 Help Advance Clean Energy Goals

Governments around the world have been establishing big climate goals for several decades. In the United States, the Biden administration has set a target to build a 100 percent carbon-free electricity sector by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. It wants to chart a path to a future in which every industry—from manufacturing to energy to transportation—achieves a balance between carbon emitted and carbon absorbed.

As the U.S. electrical grid evolves and integrates more variable renewable energy resources, like wind and solar, hydropower will need to adapt to changing grid conditions and support the reliability and resiliency of the grid, while also meeting water management needs, such as water supply, environmental flow requirements, and management of nuisance flooding.

In reflecting on 2022 and looking ahead to 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is sharing a few of the many successes its experts, laboratories, and partners achieved last year to help reach these ambitious goals.

The WPTO enables research, development, and testing of emerging technologies to advance today’s energy, as well as next-generation hydropower and pumped storage systems, for a flexible, reliable grid.

Together with the many other massive efforts underway across DOE, these successes, projects, and people will help build a clean energy future.

2022 Projects

development, and demonstration of wave energy technologies and represent the first round of open-water testing at the PacWave South test site off the Oregon coast, which is an in-development, state-of-the-art, prepermitted, accredited, grid-connected, wave energy test facility; developed in partnership with DOE, the State of Oregon, Oregon State University (OSU), and local stakeholders.

January

$25 million was awarded for energy projects that will support increased research,

The open ocean test site will consist of four berths, which will occupy two square nautical miles of ocean with a cable route to shore of approximately 12 miles in length. The location for PacWave South was selected through a public outreach process, including significant input from local fishermen. The project continues to have wide community support.

February

Experts at WPTO, as part of a larger DOE team, contributed to a report on how to broaden access to DOE funding opportunities and increase the diversity of innovators and entrepreneurs developing clean energy technologies.

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Another report on the U.S. hydropower supply chain found that, while the existing domestic supply chain is mature and effectively supports the nation’s large hydropower fleet, anticipated new construction and the need to complete refurbishments, upgrades, and relicensing activities point to the need to scale up domestic supply chain activities.

March

The first WPTO multiyear program plan was released, which outlines the office’s Continued on page 14

Continued from page 12 research priorities and plans through 2025. The plan serves as an operational guide to help WPTO manage and coordinate its activities, as well as a vehicle to communicate its mission, goals, and plans to water power stakeholders and the public. This is WPTO’s first such plan, which details research, development, demonstration, and commercial activities for the coming years and outlines how these efforts are important to meeting the nation’s energy and sustainability goals.

Organized by program and activity area, the report provides a comprehensive summary of all key performance goals to be achieved by 2025, as well as follow-on objectives running through 2030.

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For Women’s History Month, WPTO celebrated five women in water power at WPTO, with varying paths to working in water and how they’re helping to move the U.S. closer to its clean energy goals.

S Natalie Alexander – executive assistant

S Ashley Brooks – diversity and inclusion project manager

S Kathryn (Katie) Jackson – engineer and hydropower technology manager

S Yani Shininger – technical project officer

S Maya Whalen-Kipp – Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education fellow

April

Input was sought on data and research needs to help WPTO explore how to leverage state-of-the-art climate change science to inform long-term hydropower operation and resource planning.

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Oneka Technologies received a $500,000 award for its Snowflake desalination technology by winning the Waves to Water grand prize from DOE. The competition’s goal was to accelerate the development of desalination technologies capable of harnessing energy from ocean waves to create drinkable water to meet the needs of remote coastal communities and populations affected by natural disasters or extreme climate change events.

By winning the competition, the Snowflake desalination buoy was recognized by DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as an accessible and efficient solution for supplying drinking water in an environmentally responsible manner. During the ocean demonstration, it stood out for its technical performance and commercial potential. Compact and pre-assembled, the Snowflake buoy can be deployed quickly at sea, without technical expertise, and can generate more than 2,500 gallons of drinking water per week, with minimal maintenance.

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The Hydropower Operations Optimization (H2Os) Prize was launched, in which competitors use modeling, data analytics, and machine learning to create new ways for hydropower systems to coordinate with existing grid scheduling practices and meet water management needs, such as water supply, environmental flow requirements, and flood management. The prize focuses on the ways hydropower can complement variable renewables, like wind and solar. When the wind slows and the sun sets, dams and reservoirs can kick in to add power quickly and cut back again when breezes pick up and the sun rises.

Through the competition, WPTO seeks solutions to address key hydropower technology development goals:

S Hydropower Management Performance. Hydropower scheduling solutions that respect the water system’s physical and operational constraints.

S Hydropower Generation Benefits. Economic and environmental benefits resulting from hydropower generation based on feasible hydropower output and electricity market energy prices.

S Novel, Scalable, and Broad Application Unique and innovative flexible solutions that apply to a variety of facilities within a range of modeling and institutional workflows.

May

A new video was released explaining how WPTO is prioritizing environmental protections and improvements across all hydropower research and development projects.

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$8 million in funding was awarded through the WPTO “Technology Innovation to Increase Hydropower Flexibility” funding opportunity. The selected projects will strengthen hydropower’s ability to support an evolving electric grid that includes an increasing amount of variable renewable energy sources.

June

Winners were announced for the 2022 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC), along with the teams selected to compete in the 2023 MECC and the inaugural Hydropower Collegiate Competition. The competition provides real-world experience and industry connections to help prepare next-generation innovators for future careers in the marine energy sector. Multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students unlock the power of the ocean, rivers, and tides to offer unique solutions that build resilient coastal communities and provide power at sea.

For last year’s competition, teams not only created a market-research-supported business plan and developed, designed, and tested technologies, but they also had the opportunity to build and test their devices to achieve energy production.

Submissions ran the gamut, from concepts that aid in ocean observation and underwater vehicle charging, to desalination and more.

Teams included a mix of new and returning universities, along with five international universities spanning the globe from Sao Paulo to Belfast. In the U.S., this diverse set of universities (both large and small) included coastal locations and land-locked states, such as California, Massachusetts, Texas, and Michigan.

The following teams competed in the 2022 competition:

S Boise State University

S California State University, San Marcos – partnering with New Mexico State University

S Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

S Michigan Technological University

S North Carolina A&T State University – partnering with University of North Carolina Wilmington

S Oregon State University

S Purdue University

S Texas A&M University at Galveston – partnering with Sam Houston State University, University of Rochester, University of Sao Paulo, Qatar University, and University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila

S University of California, Riverside

S University of Houston

S University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

S University of New Hampshire

S University of North Florida

S University of Washington

S Virginia Tech – partnering with Stevens Institute of Technology

S Virginia Tech – partnering with University of Maine and Queen’s University Belfast

S Webb Institute

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A video was released that focuses on how the WPTO is working with marine energy researchers and technology developers to safeguard the thousands of species that inhabit the world’s oceans.

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Two WPTO-funded studies—one from Argonne National Laboratory and the other from NREL—found that much of the potential of pumped storage hydropower (PSH) potential remains untapped. Argonne researchers looked at several promising PSH technologies, while NREL researchers evaluated the potential for deploying closedloop PSH in specific regions across the country.

July Eight teams won Phase One of the H2Os Prize, and WPTO opened Phase Two, which asked new and returning competitors to plan grid operations and meet water management needs, while also satisfying more real-world factors in hydropower operations, like water flow requirements and water consumption demands.

The competition challenged innovators to upgrade hydropower technology using 21st century solutions. Competitors applied modeling, data analytics, and machine learning to create new ways for hydropower systems to plan daily grid operations and meet water management needs, such as water supply, environmental flow requirements, and flood management.

August

The winners of $500,000 were announced in the BUILD Contest as part of the Ocean Observing Prize DEVELOP Competition. The contest challenged competitors to develop solutions that use marine energy to power hurricane-monitoring systems. The teams tested their marine-energy-powered ocean observing prototypes in a state-of-the-art wave tank. The three winners of the contest shared the cash prize with Maiden Wave Energy LLC’s Rover, which won the top prize of $275,000 after the wave tank test.

September

The University Marine Energy Research Community and the Marine Energy Technology Symposium hosted their first marine energy research conference. During this event, technical experts presented their marine energy research to help accelerate the pace of sustainable technology development. The event was held in conjunction with the Ocean Renewable Energy Conference, which also provided an opportunity to meet with marine energy developers and stakeholders, as part of Ocean Energy Week 2022.

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A WPTO-funded study found that, though drought does raise concerns for hydroelectric generation, the overall hydropower fleet sustained 80 percent of its average generation for the years 2001–2021. Further, hydropower could still be relied upon to supply flexible power during periods of high energy demand— even during the most severe droughts of the past two decades in the U.S.

A $10 million funding opportunity was announced that invests in wave-powered technology innovation, research, and development for seawater desalination and a feasibility assessment for an ocean current test facility.

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Six winners in Phase Two of the H2Os

Continued on page 16

Prize were announced and WPTO opened Phase Three, which built on earlier ones, while focusing on weather-related challenges and operations.

October

Plans were announced to advance tidal and river current energy systems. The funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will focus on developing a tidal or river current research, development, and demonstration site and supporting in-water demonstration of at least one tidal energy system. The WPTO recently announced the addition of a $10 million topic area to this proposed funding opportunity. This new topic area will support at least one tidal or current energy planning and execution project in the U.S. and bring the total funding to $45 million.

A new WPTO-funded report from NREL analyzed current hydropower workforce trends and needs. It found that a new, diverse workforce is critical to the industry’s ability to sustain current operations and continue to grow to support U.S. clean energy goals. More hydropower-focused educational and training opportunities are needed to address recruitment and hiring challenges. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, WPTO issued three funding opportunities totaling more than $28 million to support the expansion of low-impact hydropower and PSH, the development of new PSH facilities, and engagement with key voices on issues like hydropower fleet modernization, sustainability, and environmental impacts.

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WPTO released a $4 million funding opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts of hydropower with research to enhance innovative fish passage and protection technologies.

November

The WPTO opened an opportunity for hydropower developers and other stakeholders to receive technical assistance from DOE national laboratories to help advance hydropower’s role on the electricity grid. The opportunity was especially targeted to PSH developers and other stakeholders who could benefit from assistance addressing valuation hurdles in project development.

December

More than $16 million in new projects was announced to further hydropower and marine energy research and development. These awards encompassed $5.6 million for hydropower projects and $10.5 million for marine energy projects across six national laboratories.

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A webinar was held to explore the water power topics in Phase One of the Fiscal Year 2023 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. These topics aim to advance the development and commercialization of new ideas and research from small businesses that can drive innovation in water power technologies. The topics included: S Innovations in Water Data

S Advanced Coatings and Geomembrane Liners

S Identification of Cybersecurity Threats and Research and Development of Mitigation Strategies for Hydropower and Dam Operations

S Codevelopment of Marine Energy Technologies

S Marine Energy Supply Chain Development

More About the Water Power Technologies Office

The WPTO researches, tests, evaluates, and develops innovative technologies capable of generating renewable, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective electricity from water resources. This includes hydropower, as well as marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy technologies.

The water power program identifies and undertakes research and development to assess the potential extractable energy from water resources and facilitates the development and deployment of renewable, environmentally sound, and cost-effective energy from domestic rivers, estuaries, and marine waters.

The MHK technologies capture energy from waves, tides, ocean currents, the natural flow of water in rivers, and marine thermal gradients without building new dams or diversions. Conventional hydropower uses dams, diversionary structures, and impoundments to generate electric power from water resources.

The program conducts work in four key areas at the forefront of water power research:

S Developing innovative renewable water power technologies

S Breaking down market barriers to deployment

S Building the infrastructure to test new technologies

S Assessing water power resources for integration into the energy grid

Resources

Stay in the know with WPTO! Subscribe to one or all of WPTO’s newsletters for information on water power funding opportunities, events, products, and news. Choose from the monthly Hydro Headlines (which covers hydropower), the monthly Water Column (which covers marine energy), and the bimonthly Water Wire (which covers both hydropower and marine energy).

For more information go to www.energy. gov.S

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