Water Power Technologies Office

The U.S. hydropower fleet represents 7% of total electricity generation installed capacity (as of the end of 2016) and produces 6.3% of electricity (2014-2016 average). In addition, 43 pumped storage hydropower (PSH) plants with a total capacity of 21.6 GW provide 95% of utility-scale electrical energy storage in the United States. The U.S. fleet is the third largest in the world for both hydropower and PSH.

Abstract We demonstrate that the global cooling resulting from a range of nuclear conflict scenarios would temporarily increase the pH in the surface ocean by up to 0.06 units over a 5‐year period, briefly alleviating the decline in pH associated with ocean acidification. Conversely, the global cooling dissolves atmospheric carbon into the upper ocean, driving a 0.1 to 0.3 unit decrease in the aragonite saturation state ( ) that persists for 10 years. The peak anomaly in pH occurs 2 years post conflict, while the anomaly peaks 4‐ to 5‐years post conflict. The decrease in would exacerbate a primary threat of ocean acidification: the inability of marine calcifying organisms to maintain their shells/skeletons in a corrosive environment. Our results are based on sensitivity simulations conducted with a state‐of‐the‐art Earth system model integrated under various black carbon (soot) external forcings. Our findings suggest that regional nuclear conflict may have ramifications for global ocean acidification.

As the world faces increasing threats from climate change, the importance of developing renewable energy technologies and reducing their costs have similarly increased. Marine energy technologies (which include wave, tidal, ocean current, ocean thermal and salinity gradient resources) are often referred to as the most nascent and newest suite of renewable technologies under development. There are vast marine energy resources available around the world and within U.S. territorial waters, and as the technologies have continued to develop, the long-term trajectory of cost reductions and performance improvements is of particular interest. This study specifically investigates the long-term cost reduction potential for commercial wave energy technologies, as wave energy represents the largest marine energy resource available to the continental U.S. Similar studies focused on other resources and technologies may follow in the future.

In the U.S., hydropower is expected to play an important role in supporting a zero-carbon energy transition so it's becoming increasingly important the hydropower regulatory process provides robust environmental and other protections while maintaining regulatory efficiency. In this study, we created a dataset of project and license characteristics and milestones using hydropower licensing documents from 107 randomly selected projects to 1) quantify the length of steps in the licensing timeline and 2) quantitatively identify factors associated with licensing timeline length and sources of uncertainty. We found original licenses had shorter average timelines than relicenses and project capacity was only related to timeline length when license type (i.e., original, relicense) was included in analyses. Both licensing timeline length and variability were impacted by the licensing process (Alternative, Integrated, Traditional) used. Projects with greater environmental complexity (e.g., endangered species) had significantly longer timelines than projects that were less environmentally complex. We attributed shorter timelines for original licenses to lower environmental complexity (e.g., no endangered species) because most original licenses involved development of already impacted sites. Projects with greater environmental complexity significantly impact resources that may require greater stakeholder involvement and increased study that can lead to longer licensing timelines.

Hydropower is a well-established industry that has been largely contributing to the global generation of clean and renewable energy for more than a century. In the United States in 2021, it accounted for 30% of all renewable energy generation and 6.1% of the total energy portfolio. Hydropower technology and designs have been optimized throughout the years, but manufacturing of hydropower components still relies heavily on traditional methods and materials. Changes in global energy production systems and international supply chain issues are inspiring the manufacturing sector to reconsider their processes. Similarly, the hydropower industry is facing manufacturing challenges stemming from well-known maintenance issues, environmental impact mitigations, and changes in operations. These challenges, along with continued innovation in new hydropower and pumped storage development and modernization of the fleet, present an opportunity for advanced manufacturing and materials (AMM) to provide immense value to the hydropower industry. In support of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), this report aims to characterize the current and emerging manufacturing-related challenges in US hydropower and to identify the high-impact opportunities in AMM that could address these challenges. The results highlighted in this report were collected through literature review, individual stakeholder interviews, and an in-person workshop organized at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory Manufacturing Demonstration Facility that brought together hydropower industry stakeholders, advanced manufacturing R&D, and the government.

At the end of 2012, U.S. wind turbines in distributed applications reached a 10-year cumulative installed capacity of more than 812 MW from more than 69,000 units across all 50 states. In 2012 alone, nearly 3,800 wind turbines totaling 175 MW of distributed wind capacity were documented in 40 states and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with 138 MW using utility-scale turbines (i.e., greater than 1 MW in size), 19 MW using mid-size turbines (i.e., 101 kW to 1 MW in size), and 18.4 MW using small turbines (i.e., up to 100 kW in size). Distributed wind is defined in terms of technology application based on a wind project’s location relative to end-use and power-distribution infrastructure, rather than on technology size or project size. Distributed wind systems are either connected on the customer side of the meter (to meet the onsite load) or directly to distribution or micro grids (to support grid operations or offset large loads nearby). Estimated capacity-weighted average costs for 2012 U.S. distributed wind installations was $2,540/kW for utility-scale wind turbines, $2,810/kW for mid-sized wind turbines, and $6,960/kW for newly manufactured (domestic and imported) small wind turbines. An emerging trend observed in 2012 was an increased use of refurbished turbines. The estimated capacity-weighted average cost of refurbished small wind turbines installed in 2012 was $4,080/kW. As a result of multiple projects using utility-scale turbines, Iowa deployed the most new overall distributed wind capacity, 37 MW, in 2012. Nevada deployed the most small wind capacity in 2012, with nearly 8 MW of small wind turbines installed in distributed applications. In the case of mid-size turbines, Ohio led all states in 2012 with 4.9 MW installed in distributed applications. State and federal policies and incentives continued to play a substantial role in the development of distributed wind projects. In 2012, U.S. Treasury Section 1603 payments and grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program were the main sources of federal funding for distributed wind projects. State and local funding varied across the country, from rebates to loans, tax credits, and other incentives. Reducing utility bills and hedging against potentially rising electricity rates remain drivers of distributed wind installations. In 2012, other drivers included taking advantage of the expiring U.S. Treasury Section 1603 program and a prosperous year for farmers. While 2012 saw a large addition of distributed wind capacity, considerable barriers and challenges remain, such as a weak domestic economy, inconsistent state incentives, and very competitive solar photovoltaic and natural gas prices. The industry remains committed to improving the distributed wind marketplace by advancing the third-party certification process and introducing alternative financing models, such as third-party power purchase agreements and lease-to-own agreements more typical in the solar photovoltaic market. Continued growth is expected in 2013.

Marine mammals are wide-ranging, relatively long-lived organisms that play a crucial role in maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems. Often referred to as ecosystem engineers and sentinel species in marine ecosystems, these charismatic megafauna feed at a variety of trophic levels, affecting food web dynamics and cycling of chemicals and nutrients in the water column as well as in benthic habitats, both nearshore and in the deep ocean. An understanding of their abundance and distribution is an essential starting point for evaluating their role in ocean ecosystems. Accordingly, marine mammals have been included among key variables to monitor in ocean observing systems, from core variables for the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) to an Essential Ocean Variable (EOV) for the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). They also contribute to several Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) for the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON). Further, evaluation of the health of marine mammal populations will help deliver societal benefits by contributing to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development; informing reporting activities such as the World Ocean Assessment; and supporting achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14, the post-2020 framework for the Convention for Biological Diversity, and a new treaty for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. The goal of this Interagency Ocean Observation Committee task team was to advance the integration of existing biological observations from local, regional, and federal sources using best practices to inform national needs and ultimately feed seamlessly into the Global Ocean Observing System, as appropriate. To accomplish this goal the subgroup focused on marine mammals to: 1. Reconcile the IOOS core biological variables with GOOS EOVs and the GEO BON EBVs, identifying where there are clear synergies in terms of spatial and temporal observing requirements and existing observation infrastructure and delivery including best practices/standards. 2. Identify and improve pathways for data flow for observations of these variables from Federal sources, such as the stock assessments conducted by NMFS and FWS, into IOOS with a focus on identifying and implementing best practices surrounding standardized data collection and delivery adhering to the FAIR and CARE data principles, as appropriate.

The goal of the Bio-ICE Task Team, convened from July 2020 - January 2022, was to advance the integration of biological observations from local, regional, and federal sources using best practices to inform national needs and ultimately feed into GOOS data visualizations and reporting. Using the GOOS marine mammals and corals EOVs as examples, the Task Team sought to: 1. Reconcile U.S. federal collection of these variables with GOOS EOVs and the Group on Earth Observations’ EBVs, identifying synergies in spatial and temporal observing requirements and with existing observation infrastructure and delivery, including use of documented best practices and standards. 2. Identify and improve pathways for data flow for observations of these variables from the IOOS Regional Associations and federal sources into common data portals. This included a focus on identifying and implementing best practices for standardized data collection and delivery adhering to the FAIR and CARE data principles, as appropriate. The Task Team effort focused on corals and marine mammals to ensure the work of the task team was achievable within the time frame. These two EOVs were selected because of their importance to multiple stakeholders, as well as offering opportunities to tie-in to several critical U.S. priorities in ocean science. While the team chose this focus, it acknowledged that there are activities and communities working to advance the other biology and ecosystem essential variables in ways that might be similar to or synergistic with the task team, such as SCOR Working Group 158: Coordinated Global Research Assessment of Seagrass System (C-GRASS), global efforts to coordinate ocean sound monitoring and data, GOOS BioEco panel community workshops and ongoing panel activities, and other efforts worth tracking or considering for future engagement with IOOC.

The International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), founded in 1935, is a worldwide independent organisation of engineers and water specialists working in fields related to the hydro-environmental sciences and their practical application.