Community Highlights

All inland bodies of water have some level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from microbes in the environment that naturally produce carbon dioxide and methane. Current estimates of GHG emissions from reservoirs are incomplete and vary widely, which makes it challenging to calculate total emissions related to hydropower operations. To better quantify and reduce reservoir emissions related to hydropower, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using advanced tools to measure reservoir GHG emissions released through multiple processes, including degassing as water is passed through turbines. Warmer water temperatures in the future are expected to alter GHG emissions from reservoirs, but better understanding the current GHG emissions can improve models that inform reservoir management to mitigate emissions for climate resilience. 

Learn more from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

Modernizing the U.S. electric grid means integrating new technologies that are typically connected to the internet. This growing network of integrated systems and technologies—often called the Internet of Things—increases opportunities for security compromises, making cybersecurity a key focus for energy infrastructure, particularly hydropower facilities. 

A new tool developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) aims to provide tailored cybersecurity for hydropower plants. The Cybersecurity Situational Awareness Tool for Hydropower (CYSAT-Hydro) is a data-driven, hardware-agnostic cybersecurity tool designed to protect facilities from becoming access points for hackers and malicious actors. The tool uses artificial intelligence to detect anomalies in technology networks, then sends detailed information about cyberattacks to hydropower operators in real time to help restore functionality post-cyberattack. 

Learn more about CYSAT-Hydro from NREL.

The U.S. Department of Energy launched an incentives program for infrastructure improvements at hydropower facilities. The program, Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives—also referred to as Section 247 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005—was funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It made over $550 million dollars available in 2024 to eligible hydropower facilities to invest in infrastructure enhancements that increase grid resilience (including the addition of energy storage capacity), advance dam safety, or support environmental improvements. Through this incentive program, 293 hydropower facilities across 33 states received funding to improve their facilities. The effort directly supports the safety, security, and functionality of hydropower facilities throughout their lifetime, including modernizations necessary for hydropower to continue providing valuable services. 

To learn more, visit the program website. 

Long-lived hydropower infrastructure must be kept well-maintained and periodically modernized to ensure functionality and safety—particularly in the face of altered rainfall patterns and flood risk due to climate change. To inform emergency and safety planning in the state of California, a consortium of researchers funded by the Yuba Water Agency, California Department of Water Resources, and the National Science Foundation developed ARkStorm 2.0, which simulates possible 1000-year extreme storm and flood scenarios. Based on historic megastorm events in California, ARkStorm 2.0 also incorporates the effects of climate change and advanced climate and hydrological science to improve simulations of these possible weather events. The information in ARkStorm 2.0 about extreme storm and flood scenarios can help inform dam safety investments and emergency planning, to prepare for extreme weather events that can lead to spillway damage, downstream erosion, and even dam failure. 

Learn more about ARkStorm 2.0.

River infrastructure, such as locks and dams, alters water flow patterns in ways that can affect river species and habitats. The Sustainable Rivers Program is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and The Nature Conservancy to find sustainable ways to manage river infrastructure and water flows that maximize benefits to both people and nature. Specifically, the program helps determine environmental flow requirements for rivers—the water flow on either side of a dam necessary to support river species and habitats—and operating plans for infrastructure that use these flows. The program takes a collaborative approach that combines science and stakeholder engagement to review new environmental flow patterns and modernize river infrastructure. Since 2002, the Sustainable Rivers Program has grown to include 44 rivers and 90 associated reservoirs and dams. 

Learn more about the Sustainable Rivers Program from The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.