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Hydropower Mission, Vision, and Goals

Mission

The program's mission is to conduct research and development that will improve the technical, societal, and environmental benefits of hydropower and provide cost-competitive technologies that enable the development of new and incremental hydropower capacity, adding diversity to the nation's energy supply.

Vision

Hydropower is already a major source of energy for the nation, and there are substantial undeveloped hydropower resources of several types that could be developed without risking adverse environmental impacts. Undeveloped resources include incremental upgrades of existing power plants where aging equipment needs to be replaced, retrofits of hydropower plants at existing dams where no power is now generated, and so-called kinetic energy sites where no dams are needed. If these undeveloped resources are fully developed, the current installed U. S. hydropower capacity could be increased by as much as fifty percent.

DOE supports hydropower resource development by developing new, environmentally improved technologies that when implemented offer existing plants the means to increase their generation by more than ten percent. DOE will also promote small hydropower R&D through its low head hydropower program activities. Because advanced technology offers improvements to fish resources, habitat and water quality, new hydropower development can have benefits to both energy production and environmental quality.

Goals

The goal for the program's technology viability and application activities is to maintain hydropower as an attractive electricity production option for the twenty-first century and increase electricity generation where available without adverse environmental effects. These increases in generation will be accomplished through a combination of advanced technology that includes new hardware (such as turbines, hydraulic controls, and facilities) to mitigate for environmental effects and operational improvements at the unit, plant, and reservoir systems levels. The program goals are:

• By 2010, provide new technology that will enable 10% growth in hydropower generation at existing plants with enhanced environmental performance.

• By 2010, complete program activities that will enable hydropower capacity to be harnessed in the United States without constructing new dams.

More detailed information about how the program will achieve these goals is presented in Program Areas.