Hydropower Research
The Osage Project on Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks tests a retrofit aeration system designed to improve downstream water quality and fish habitat.
Hydropower is the most established of the renewable energy technologies, providing more than 75% of the electricity generated by renewable energy in the United States. About 10% of U.S. electricity is generated by hydropower. Hydropower offers significant advantages over other energy sources: it is a reliable, domestic, renewable resource, and it emits no harmful atmospheric emissions or greenhouse gases. Hydropower projects also provide other benefits, such as water supply, flood control, irrigation, navigation, and recreation.
Hydropower projects also present difficult environmental challenges. The issues confronting the hydropower industry include fish injury and mortality from passing through turbines and changes to water quality and quantity below dams and diversions.
The goal for the program's hydropower research is to maintain hydropower as an attractive electricity production option for the twenty-first century and increase electricity generation where available without 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. To develop advanced technology and operational improvements, the hydropower industry relies on aggressive research, development, and support programs.
DOE's research promises to increase hydropower generation up to 10% at existing dams, while at the same time improving the environmental quality of U.S. rivers.
In order to maintain and expand hydropower's contribution to the nation, the Wind and Hydropower Technology Program' research focuses on the two elements of its mission:
- Enhancing the technical viability of hydropower systems, and
- Expanding the use of hydropower in the marketplace.
In the area of technology viability, the program is pursuing the following:
To increase technology use, the program sponsors the following research: