Community Highlights

These highlights feature efforts by the community that are bringing us closer to a modern vision for hydropower. Interested in featuring your project? Contact the Vision team.

Still image from the digital campaign that shows a picture of a river with words in an overlay that say, Hydropower: the solution that's right in front of you. — Still from NHA's digital marketing campaign. (Photo courtesy of NHA)

Hydropower: The Solution That’s Right in Front of You, a Digital Campaign

Enhanced Collaboration, Education, and Outreach

Renewable Recognition

Industry

Other stakeholders

The National Hydropower Association elevated the visibility of hydropower as a renewable energy source through its digital advertising campaign, Hydropower: The Solution That’s Right in Front of You. The campaign took a storytelling approach that leveraged engaging photos and videos to appeal to a broad audience on social media and streaming platforms. The materials highlighted how hydropower provides clean and reliable energy, supports other renewables, has a long record of success as well as room for future innovation, and provides additional value through recreation opportunities. The impactful campaign reached millions and had a largely favorable impression, boosting hydropower’s visibility as a renewable energy and communicating its myriad value to a wide audience.

Learn more about the campaign from NHA.

Documenting Information for the Future Hydropower Workforce

Enhanced Collaboration, Education, and Outreach

Workforce Development

Industry

Investing in training and workforce development is important to ensuring hydropower continues to provide renewable energy and critical grid services in the future. In addition to direct education, training, and mentoring efforts, this includes appropriate documentation for the future workforce. With this in mind, W.E.S.T. USA, Inc. is working with hydropower owners and operators to develop technical manuals tailored to their facilities. This technical documentation is digital, specific to the facility’s equipment, and incorporates the institutional knowledge of employees that are near retirement to ensure that valuable information is retained.

Learn more from W.E.S.T. USA, Inc.

Students stand around a small model of a hydropower turbine. — During Hydro School, students built a model turbine. (Photo by Idaho National Laboratory)

Hydro School Reaches Students and Tribes in Idaho

Enhanced Collaboration, Education, and Outreach

Workforce Development

DOE/National Labs

The future of hydropower is dependent on a well-trained, diverse workforce that is ready to meet industry needs. Hydro School, hosted by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is one example of hydropower educational outreach that is key to workforce development. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office, INL’s Hydro School summer camp engaged students from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe to participate in a week-long program. The camp included two days in the classroom, one day in the field, and one day visiting a local hydropower plant, the Idaho Falls Power Hydropower Plant. Students learned about hydropower basics, technologies and applications, and potential career paths, and had opportunities to participate in open dialogue about the their perspectives on natural and cultural resources related to hydropower.

Learn more about Hydro School.

A student watches as a researcher holds a juvenile salmon and tags it with a passive acoustic transmitter. — Students at Salmon Summit learn about fish passage and tagging from hydropower researchers. (Photo by Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

Salmon Summit Brings Hydropower to Students

Enhanced Collaboration, Education, and Outreach

Workforce Development

DOE/National Labs

Other stakeholders

The Salmon in the Classroom curriculum, sponsored by the Benton Conservation District (BCD), is an annual program in which fourth and fifth grade students across eastern Washington raise fish in the classroom. The curriculum culminates in the release of the fish into the Columbia River during the Salmon Summit, where students learn about fish passage, hydropower, and related careers. With support from the Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office, researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) partner with BCD bring the latest science on hydropower and fish passage to thousands of students in person and via live stream, including live demonstrations of juvenile salmon tagging and release.

The educators involved in Salmon in the Classroom are also invited to participate in PNNL’s Teacher-Scientist Partnership—a professional development opportunity for educators to work directly with PNNL researchers and staff to tackle real-world scientific challenges. The program aims to help teachers take real-world problems and lessons—in this case about hydropower—back to their students to inspire the future workforce.

Learn more about Salmon in the Classroom at the BCD website.

Hydropower Flows Here

Enhanced Collaboration, Education, and Outreach

Resource Access and Sharing

Government

Hydropower Flows Here is a multi-year hydropower educational campaign managed by the Bonneville Power Administration in collaboration with public power utilities across the Northwest. The effort has created hundreds of fact-based, educational resources for the public about the benefits of hydropower, including videos, infographics, and activity sheets. There are also free curricula designed for K-12 classrooms that take a closer look at the science and engineering behind hydropower – like how to build a motor or turbine.

Visit Hydropower Flows Here to learn more and access their free educational content.

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