Community Highlights

The Non-Powered Dam (NPD) Toolkit, released in October and developed collaboratively by INL and PNNL, compiles regulatory guidance and procedural information to assist stakeholders navigating non-powered dam hydropower development. The toolkit addresses permitting pathways, environmental compliance considerations, and stakeholder engagement processes, providing structured access to commonly requested regulatory information.

Early user feedback indicates that the toolkit improves clarity around regulatory requirements and supports more efficient project review discussions.

Non-Powered Dam Toolkit

The integration of RFID-enabled Smart Tags with SAP Mobility applications supports improved inspection and maintenance workflows for water and energy infrastructure. Field personnel can scan tagged assets to retrieve maintenance histories, log inspection data in real time, and automate cost allocation processes across system components. This digital asset management approach strengthens data traceability and reduces manual reporting burdens.

Enhanced asset visibility and automated documentation support infrastructure reliability and operational resilience across complex water management and hydropower systems.

SAP Case Study – Smart Tags for SAP Mobility

Field research reported in Hydro Review indicates that Natel Energy’s fish-friendly turbine designs can improve survival outcomes for migratory fish species passing through hydropower facilities. The turbine geometry is engineered to reduce strike probability, minimize shear forces, and manage pressure changes during passage while maintaining generation performance. Early findings suggest the approach offers a viable pathway for projects seeking improved environmental compatibility in ecologically sensitive waterways.

Advances in turbine design that integrate biological performance considerations with energy production objectives represent an important step toward modernized hydropower technologies.

Hydro Review – Research Shows Safe Fish Passage Through Natel Turbines

 

The PSH Cost Model Web App, hosted on OpenEI, provides an interactive framework for estimating the lifecycle costs of pumped storage hydropower (PSH) projects. Users can adjust site characteristics, design parameters, and financial assumptions to evaluate capital expenditures, operations and maintenance costs, and economic feasibility. The platform is designed to support structured cost discussions among developers, planners, and financing partners evaluating long-duration energy storage projects.

By increasing visibility into cost drivers and enabling standardized modeling approaches, the tool advances transparent economic analysis for pumped storage development.

NREL PSH Cost Model Web App

The Open Energy Information (OpenEI) platform hosts an open-access collection of hydropower workforce development reports, analytical tools, and reference materials to support educators, employers, and policy planners. The Hydropower STEM and Workforce Reports section aggregates studies on labor trends, training gaps, skill needs, and career pathway development across the water power sector. By consolidating materials from multiple authors and institutions, the platform provides a shared knowledge base for workforce strategy and education planning.

Improved access to workforce data enhances transparency and supports coordinated efforts to align hydropower education, training programs, and industry needs.

OpenEI – Hydropower STEM / Workforce Reports

 

The Foundation for Water & Energy Education (FWEE) delivers hydropower-focused training programs and experiential learning opportunities for teachers and students throughout the Pacific Northwest. Through educator workshops, curriculum development support, and STEM Career Academies, FWEE connects classroom instruction with applied water and energy system concepts. Students gain exposure to hydropower technologies, resource management principles, and career pathways spanning engineering, environmental science, and utility operations.

By strengthening regional energy literacy and supporting early-career exposure to hydropower systems, FWEE contributes to long-term workforce development in communities where hydropower infrastructure plays a foundational role in energy supply and water management.

Foundation for Water & Energy Education – Teacher & Student Opportunities

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.

Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) currently accounts for roughly 96% of all utility-scale energy storage in the United States, and a new approach developed by RheEnergise could make PSH appropriate for more applications. Instead of using water, the RheEnergise approach uses an inexpensive proprietary fluid that is 2.5 times more dense than water. The higher density fluid can generate the same amount of power as a traditional pumped storage hydropower facility while using significantly smaller tanks and requiring less elevation change. That makes the approach a better fit for landscapes with less elevation and smaller footprints. Designed to provide long-duration energy storage of up to 50 MW at individual projects, the high-density hydro approach can be co-located with other energy projects and leverage existing grid infrastructure. It’s an innovative, cost-effective approach to energy storage that could unlock more opportunities for PSH development to support the grid. 

Learn more from RheEnergise.

Turbine maintenance often means costly downtime and time-consuming work, particularly when trying to inspect hard-to-reach areas of turbines. GE’s Hydro Solutions’ underwater roboticized turbine inspection vehicle is an option designed to enable quicker turbine inspections without dewatering the equipment. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technology requires few personnel to deploy, which can help reduce the time and cost of inspections. It enables facilities to conduct on-demand inspections of turbines to visually evaluate erosion, cavitation, corrosion, or impact marks. It is an example of an innovative technical advancement that provide real-time insights into the health and performance of hydropower facilities, supporting hydropower’s ability to meet changing energy needs.

Learn more from GE.  

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.