Public power utilities are participating in hydropower projects that will receive funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.
DOE on Nov. 18 announced nearly $15 million for nine research and development projects to increase hydropower's ability to respond to changing demand on the electric grid.
“This ability to operate flexibly allows hydropower facilities to help balance electricity grids with an increasing amount of variable renewable resources such as wind energy and solar power, ensuring communities have power when they need it,” it said.
The following projects being funded by DOE involve public power utilities:
Colorado Springs Utilities
DRG Technical Solutions, based in Memphis, Tennessee, will demonstrate the potential benefits of combining hydrogen energy technologies with existing hydropower facilities in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
The project team will integrate equipment to produce hydrogen at a hydropower facility. That hydrogen can then be stored to provide electricity to the grid when needed and power or fuel for electric and hydrogen vehicles.
Colorado Springs Utilities, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and University of California, Irvine are partners on this project. (Award amount: $3,040,998)
New York Power Authority
Researchers from North Carolina State University, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, will use advanced tools equipped with artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to optimize operations and increase flexibility at hydropower facilities.
The resulting operational framework could be applicable and adaptable across hydropower facilities.
Duke Energy, NREL, New York Power Authority, and Purdue University are partners on this project. (Award amount: $750,000)
Southwestern Power Administration/Western Area Power Administration
The Missouri University of Science and Technology, based in Rolla, Missouri, will leverage artificial intelligence to develop approaches to hydropower operations that consider weather forecasting, market price forecasting, water and electricity constraints, and production costs. This will help operators to better anticipate and forecast conditions, allowing them to adjust facility operations accordingly.
NREL, Southwestern Power Administration, and Western Area Power Administration are partners on this project. (Award amount: $750,000)
Additional details are available on DOE’s website.
