Program Name or Ancillary Text eere.energy.gov

Wind and Water Power Technologies Office

United States Department of Energy Water Power Program: Hydropower R&D Activities

Patrick O’ConnorBCS, Incorporated3/20/2013

Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov2

Water Power Program Mission

The mission of the U.S. DOE Water Power Program is to perform research and testing, and develop innovative technologies capable of generating renewable, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective electricity from water resources.

This includes efforts related to:

• Marine and Hydrokinetics• waves, tides, and currents in oceans, estuaries, and tidal areas;

• free flowing water in rivers, lakes, and streams;

• free flowing water in man-made channels; and

• differentials in ocean temperature (ocean thermal energy conversion).

• Hydropower• Efficiency increases and capacity gains at existing power stations• Adding power stations at non-powered dams and constructed waterways• Quantifying the value of ancillary benefits from pumped-storage and hydro• Reducing costs and impacts for new sustainable hydropower developments

Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov3

1999-2005 Average

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 House Mark

2013 Senate Mark

$-

$10,000,000

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

$4,478,571$0.5 $0

$9,516,768

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$30,000,000

$59

$45,000,000

$59,000,000

Program Total

Marine and Hydrokinetic

DOE “Hydropower Program” was initiated in FY 1977

Context: DOE Water Power History

• The “Hydropower Program” was closed out in FY 2006, with no funding in FY 2007• The “Water Power Program” was established in FY 2008 with a new mandate

covering marine and hydrokinetic technologies and conventional hydropower

Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov4

Hydropower

Improving technologies and processes for the efficiency, flexibility, and environmental performance of the existing hydropower fleet, and investigating

opportunities for new hydropower development, and integrating variable renewables using the existing fleet and pumped storage hydropower

Existing Facility

Improvements

Pumped Storage

New HydroSites

ConstructedWaterways

Non-powered

Dams

Pumped Storage

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DOE Hydropower R&D Strategy: Capitalize on Near-Term Opportunities

Leveraging Existing Infrastructure for Low-Impact Hydropower Development

• Rehabilitation, upgrades, and expansion of existing hydropower sites• 7 upgrade projects supported under 2009 stimulus funding; 3 in service

EOY 2012; 3 more EOY 2013; 1 in 2014• Conventional technologies, exemplary applications (Abiquiu pictured)

• New, very-low-head hydropower systems for deployment in canals and conduits and non-powered dams

• Modularity and standardization leveraging economies of scale (natel hydroEngine pictured)

• Application of advanced technologies (weisenberger mills variable speed generator)

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DOE Hydropower R&D Strategy: Capitalize on Near-Term Opportunities

Optimizing Hydropower Systems for Energy and Environment• Multi-objective Water-Use Optimization Toolset

• Systems optimization across seasonal and hourly timescales to increase generation, flexibility, and environmental health

Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination• Basin-Scale approach to identify sustainable hydropower and

environmental protection/restoration opportunities• Deschutes Basin study area (state of Oregon) pictured

• Hydropower Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers

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DOE Hydropower R&D Strategy:Enabling Variable Renewables

Modeling the benefits and capabilities of advanced hydropower and pumped storage technologies• Running set of interlinked projects simulating hydropower technology

operations in Western U.S. markets

• EPRI-led analysis 2010-2012• Case studies and production cost analyses

• Argonne National Laboratory analysis (ongoing) to improve modeling representation of advanced pumped storage and simulate operations at shorter timesteps

• New PSS/E representations of variable speed and ternary PSH configurations

• Simulated AGC response

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• “Sensor fish” measurement tool to evaluate fish interactions with generating equipment and hydraulic structures• Currently being reengineered to reduce costs and improve

recoverability

• Alden Fish Friendly Turbine• Continuation of “old” Hydropower Program, a technology a decade

in the making.• 94% Efficient, 94-100% aquatic species survival

DOE Hydropower R&D Strategy: Environmental Sustainability

Typical Francis Runner

New Alden Runner

Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov9

DOE Hydropower Strategy and R&D: Refine Long-Term Vision and StrategyAssessing Potential and Defining a Future DOE Role• Resource assessment results show potential to double hydropower generation• Most substantial resource in “new hydro” (new sites and, to a lesser extent, non-

powered dams)• Analysis-driven R&D portfolio to target high impact needs in identified resource resource characterization + cost analysis + environmental attribution (ongoing)

Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov10

Thank You!

Questions?