The U.S. Department of Energy recently revealed plans to invest more than $13 million in seven research and development initiatives aimed at promoting hydropower as a vital clean energy resource. This funding will drive the development of technologies enabling power generation at dams that currently cannot produce electricity and facilitate the growth of pumped storage hydropower infrastructure, according to a Sept. 6 news release.
“For more than a century, Americans have harnessed the power of water to electrify our communities, and it’s a critical renewable energy source that will help us reach our climate goals,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in the release. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will help to expand the use of hydropower, increasing access to affordable, clean power and creating good-paying jobs.”
The seven projects include testing the Amjet Turbine System in Keokuk, Iowa, to add power-generating infrastructure to non-powered dams; developing spillway turbines in Pasco, Wash.; and retrofitting traditional hydropower facilities into pumped storage hydropower facilities in Salem, Ala., the release reported.
Additionally, innovative offshore pumped storage hydropower technology is being developed in San Pedro, Calif., while low-cost underground pressurized water storage is being explored in East Texas. In various locations, modular systems to generate hydropower from existing infrastructure are also in development, along with digital twin technology to predict maintenance needs in hydropower turbines, improving monitoring and reliability, the release said.
These projects aim to accelerate sustainable hydropower solutions, according to the news release.
These initiatives were chosen as part of the funding opportunity named Innovative Technologies to Enable Low-Impact Hydropower and Pumped Storage Hydropower Growth, under the purview of the DOE Water Power Technologies Office. The financial support for these projects is made available through President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the release said.
DOE and the applicants will engage in a negotiation process before funds are disbursed, the release reported.
