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Clean Currents 2023 takes place in Cincinnati, Ohio, this week (October 10-13)! Designed by the water power industry, for the water power industry, Clean Currents offers something for everyone, complimenting the needs and learning styles of attendees.
With so much taking place at Clean Currents, National Hydropower Association (NHA) wants to ensure that attendees are able to pursue learning paths relevant to their professional interests, as well as plan out the flow of their day with the detailed program schedule.
The Clean Currents experience isn’t just confined to the conference center. With three tours taking place during the week of October 9th, attendees will have the opportunity to visit critical water power infrastructure providing renewable energy to the people of Kentucky and Ohio, learn about hydropower’s history, participate in a river sweep, and network with peers at exciting and notable locations across Cincinnati.
Regardless of whether you’re able to attend the conference + tradeshow this week, having representation at Clean Currents can still benefit you and your organization. With attendees able to receive 13.5 professional development hours, engage with water power leaders, and attend session germane to your work, returning colleagues can share information with their teams to continue the learning and growth sparked by Clean Currents.
CLEAN CURRENTS GIVES BACK
The Clean Currents event is owned by the National Hydropower Association (NHA). All proceeds from this industry-wide event go right back into the association to do the work for the industry. NHA is the nonprofit national association dedicated exclusively to preserving and expanding clean, renewable, affordable hydropower and marine energy. The mission of the organization is to champion waterpower as America’s premier carbon-free renewable energy resource.
NOTE: Clean Currents and NHA are not affiliated with Hydrovision International, which is owned by the for-profit United Kingdom-based company Clarion Events Ltd.
Do you know where the money you spend goes?
Each year, we spend thousands of dollars to attend conferences, but we may be left wondering where the proceeds end up.
At NHA, we offer unparalleled transparency; revenue raised at Clean Currents is invested directly back into advancing waterpower.
Proceeds from Clean Currents will fund NHA’s work to secure hydropower’s place as a climate-friendly, renewable, and reliable energy source that serves national environmental, energy, and economic policy objectives.
WHAT MAKES THE PROGRAMMING AT CLEAN CURRENTS SPECIAL?
The topic selection at Clean Currents is based on conversations with members of the industry. You told us your needs, and we developed conference content around those needs.
As we developed the conference content, we knew we had to do three things to stand out:
1) Offer sessions germane to meeting your daily challenges and helping to instill best practices and adaption of new technologies
2) Ensure a balanced program that offers content for all attendees
3) Present information in various formats so that attendees could learn in a variety of ways
Not only are the topics you’ll find at Clean Currents 2023 spot on with what you need, we are presenting them to create an atmosphere of collaboration and free exchange.
Clean Currents will offer PDH-eligible educational content, and every minute of it makes you a stronger waterpower player.
TAKING A DEEP DIVE INTO RELEVANT WATERPOWER TOPICS
When we went out into the field and asked you, it became clear that you want relevant content that helps answer the challenges of our ever-changing industry. Content that helps attendees improve safety, operations, and management and apply innovation that will reduce costs and support additional clean, renewable power generation through improved waterpower.
Clean Currents 2023 programming is relevant to both technical- and business-focused professionals involved with waterpower. Attendees from conventional hydropower, pumped storage, small hydro, marine energy, government agencies, regulators, NGOs, and consultants will find content for all interests, as well as a wide range of topics including:
- Dam safety
- Innovation
- Developing new projects
- Engineering
- Environmental protection
- Licensing
- Management
- Pumped storage
LEVERAGING THE BEST WATERPOWER MINDS IN THE BUSINESS
Learning is a give-and-take process, and this is exemplified in a roundtable environment. Our Roundtable Dialogue sessions take full advantage of the fact that the participants have come from many different regions, with different skills, challenges, and opportunities. Everyone in the room is a teacher and a learner.
The beauty of this style of learning environment is that it’s completely organic. The learning is driven by the needs and knowledge of those in the room.
Roundtable Dialogue topics include:
- Hydro Licensing: Coming Up for Air – Sharing Information, Experiences and Solutions
- Workforce Management and Succession Planning
- Solar and Batteries and Hydro, Oh My! Hybridizing our Existing Assets for a Decarbonized Future
- Domestic Manufacturing and Supply Chain
LEARNING FROM LEADERS
We’re also offering you plenty of sessions to hear from some of the brightest minds in the industry.
Our Classroom Presentations and Panel Discussions will provide you with a wealth of information on topics from improving environmental performance through technology to water management.
The Classroom Presentations will involve formal presentations followed by an emcee-led Q&A.
The Panel Discussions are “fireside chat” style, where a moderator and a group of panelists with differing viewpoints exchange insights and perspectives. Look forward to engaging discussions in which participants explore hot industry topics, share their points of view, and challenge one another—along with the audience—all for the good of the industry.
Here are just some of the Classroom Presentation and Panel Discussion topics you can choose from:
- Pumped Storage Development and Construction
- Water Management
- Operations and Equipment
- Pumped Storage — Contributions to the Energy Transition
TAKE A HANDS-ON APPROACH
Throughout the waterpower industry, the need for training is prevalent. As part of Clean Currents registration, attendees get access to “Deep-Dive” workshop offerings. For no extra charge, attendees will find themselves immersed in interactive training on industry-critical topics. You’ll experience hands-on training led by knowledgeable instructors, and you’ll leave with insights, tools, and techniques that you can immediately put to work when you’re back on the job. Take deep dives into topics such as:
- Focus on Hydropower Flexibility: Balancing Grid Demands, Operational Realities, and Regulatory Requirements
- Planning for Change: Where to Get Hydro-Climate Projection Datasets and How to Use Them
- Cybersecurity Course – TORCH: Training, Outreach, and Recruiting for Cybersecurity in Hydropower
- Unlocking the Behavior of Generator Stator Foundations
- Pumped Storage Forum
GET RECHARGED IN THE INNOVATION POWER HOUSE
The Innovation Power House is the hub at the center of the conference—and it’s the biggest “classroom” at the event. It’s also the dynamic and engaging epicenter of innovation that will make your head swim with new thoughts as you see hands-on demonstrations of “what’s next” for the industry … think additive manufacturing, data management, and much more.
These demonstrations are set up for organic Q&As where you can interact with the demonstrator.
What’s more: The Power House is your one-stop shop to meet with asset owners who will be sharing their capital investment plans for the next five years. This feature is unique to Clean Currents and creates great opportunity for intentional networking.
MEET ASSET OWNERS
The “Meet and Greet” sessions at Clean Currents take place throughout the week, and attendees will have have the opportunity to connect with the host utilities (American Municipal Power, City of Hamilton, and Duke Energy) and other asset owners.
Each asset owner will each share specifics of their capital investment pipelines. Attendees will be introduced to the staff at each asset owner who will be responsible for procuring the services and products required for this work and/or responsible for managing these capital improvements. Attendees can interact with those team members and find out more about the specific plans.
EDUCATION HAPPENS EVERYWHERE
Clean Currents was designed with mingling — and meaningful contact — in mind. All sessions and workshops are part of CC Central, which encompasses exhibits, food and beverage services, Intelligence Theater presentations, the Waterpower Learning Center, Innovation Power House, and Relaxation Stations. This approach will allow attendees to meet and continue interaction after a session or workshop that deserves a bit more thought.
FOLLOW-UP IS FUNDAMENTAL
A conference is only as good as what you retain; forgotten brilliant ideas don’t get the job done.
Clean Currents will keep the conversation going on the hot topics that will change the way you conduct day-to-day business to help you work smarter and more efficiently.
Long after you’re back to your day-to-day routine, you’ll still be learning and implementing new skills with NHA there to help guide you.
NHA brings industry professionals together throughout the year by way of its regional meeting series (registration for these is open to anyone working in or with the waterpower industry), its policy- and legislative-focused Waterpower Week in Washington conference in Washington, D.C., and educational webinar offerings.
In addition, NHA serves as the “voice of the industry,” through its POWERHOUSE media platform. Every week, NHA publishes articles on the platform, and provides a weekly email communication to the industry as a way of providing insights, lessons learned, and knowledge transfer. Many of the topics discussed during Clean Currents will be further explored in POWERHOUSE articles.
For organizations that are members of NHA, the learning and connecting also continues through the association’s extensive committee/council structure, in which people meet regularly throughout the year to exchange knowledge and work to solve challenges of the industry.
ATTEND 2023’s BEST LEARNING OPPORTUNITY
Prior to the formation of Clean Currents, there wasn’t one event that would offer the opportunity for all sectors of the waterpower industry to convene, communicate, and collaborate.
See you in Cincinnati during the week of October 9, 2023.
