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Malcolm Woolf of the National Hydropower Association: A Voice for the Water Power Industry as a force multiplier to integrate variable wind and solar, hydropower is an essential part of any climate solution. For these reasons, I’m excited to join the hydropower family. Hydro Leader: How long have you been in your current position as president and CEO of the NHA? Malcolm Woolf: 15 months. Hydro Leader: Would you please introduce the NHA?
Malcolm Woolf tours Voith Hydro’s manufacturing facility in York, Pennsylvania.
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he National Hydropower Association (NHA) is the national trade association for the hydropower association, encompassing all water power technologies, including traditional reservoir hydropower, pumped storage, wave energy, and tidal energy. While hydropower is often seen as a mature technology, it is still experiencing significant innovation and promises to be a crucial component of the 21st-century U.S. energy mix. In this interview, NHA President and CEO Malcolm Woolf tells Hydro Leader about the NHA’s activities and explains why national and state policymakers and regulators should update their views of hydropower. Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
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Hydro Leader: Who are your members? Malcolm Woolf: Our more than 240 members span the entire supply chain, from soup to nuts, and include large generators, independent power producers, equipment manufacturers, engineering consultants, and legal support. Hydro Leader: What sorts of technologies fall under the category of marine energy? Malcolm Woolf: Marine energy covers a wide array of incredibly exciting technologies based on tidal, wave, thermal, and current power. We believe that marine energy is America’s next-generation renewable, and we are working to help this sector reach full-scale commercialization. One of the most significant challenges to the domestic marine-energy industry is the need to continually attract private investment to fund innovation and initial demonstrations during the precompetitive stages of technology development, primarily due to the timelines and technical risk involved. Unfortunately, the United States has
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE NHA.
Malcolm Woolf: I’m an energy lawyer by training and am a self-described policy wonk. I have spent most of my career advocating for sustainable energy technologies, including wind, solar, batteries, and electric vehicles. I’m a late adopter of hydro, but I’ve realized that it’s time to fall in love with hydro again. It’s America’s first renewable energy source and an amazing source of flexible, carbon-free power. In fact, with over 100 gigawatts (GW) of zero-carbon electricity capacity already on the grid and the ability to act
Malcolm Woolf: The NHA is the national trade association for the hydropower industry, covering all forms of water power, including conventional hydropower, pumped storage, conduit hydropower, and marine energy. A lot of people think of the NHA as the voice of the industry in Washington, DC, which it certainly is. We actively engage with Congress and the administration, but we also convene almost a dozen events per year in which the industry can get together and exchange technical expertise. We also run a host of technical committees on subjects like hydraulic power, pumped storage, water power innovation, small hydro, and marine energy. The aim of those committees is to help the industry work through those issues and to train the industry. We operate as a chamber of commerce for the hydropower industry.
