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At National Hydropower Association’s (NHA) Water Power Week, hydro project owners and water power developers, service and product suppliers, Congressional policymakers, government agency officials, non-government organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders descended on Washington D.C. for intensive sessions covering many aspects of water power.
NHA, owner and organizer of the national policy conference, offers these observations and trends emerging from last week’s gathering.
The top takeaways from Water Power Week are:
THE ENDURING IMPORTANCE OF WATER POWER ADVOCACY
Over the years, Water Power Week has positioned itself as the industry’s ‘must attend’ policy conference due to its location in Washington D.C., critical mass of water power leaders, speakers from the Federal government, and content covering the industry’s most ‘top-of-mind’ topics.
While proximity to the epicenter of government is always beneficial to the conference and accompanying Advocacy Day, the new Trump administration, as well as the Republican controlled House and Senate, have provided hydropower with renewed attention.
Hydropower, named in the Trump Administration’s ‘Unleashing American Energy’ Executive Order, was identified as an energy technology in need of full regulatory review, wherein the agencies overlapping with hydro must identify actions that could potentially place an undue burden on the resource.
The nation’s energy needs are further called out in multiple Trump Executive Orders, which have set the stage for a more favorable operational environment for earmarked technologies.
Already this year, legislators have introduced four separate water power bills – all aiming to take advantage of a preferential landscape for water power policy.
Amongst these bills, the Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration Act, which was introduced by Senators Murkowski (R-AK) and Cantwell (D-WA) on March 27, supports the development of hydro infrastructure by establishing a federal tax incentive to increase security and capacity at existing projects.
Senator Murkowski, who has long been a key supporter of hydro in all its forms, made an appearance at Water Power Week on April 1.
Taking the stage during the day’s plenary, Senator Murkowski spoke about Alaska’s unique water power development opportunities, including the state’s enormous hydro and tidal energy potential.
The plenary concluded with Senator Murkowski receiving NHA’s Hydropower Champion Award, presented by Duff Mitchell, Managing Director of Juneau Hydropower, for her incredible devotion to hydro in all its forms.
Senator Lisa Murkowski is presented with NHA’s Hydropower Champion Award; from left to right: Malcolm Woolf (NHA), Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Duff Mitchell (Juneau Hydropower)
Later that afternoon, Advocacy Day participants, who had previously received simulation training to enhance their pitches, pocket cards with talking points, folders filled with resources, and an app designed to facilitate a day of meetings, proceeded to Capitol Hill on a mission to turn transformative water power policy into action!
With record-breaking attendance, more than 150 attendees joined 123 meetings – 61 of which were Senate-level while 62 were House-level. Of those meetings, 52 were with Democratic offices while 71 were with Republican offices. Additionally, Advocacy Day attendees participated in 24 member-level meetings – a dramatic increase from the three member-level meetings of 2024, illustrating that water power still enjoys strong bipartisan support in the current political climate.
As part of Advocacy Day’s post-lobbying celebration, Hali Gruber (Sen. Murkowski’s Office) and Kai Fujisawa (Rep. Schrier’s Office) – were recognized with NHA’s Annual ‘Unsung Heroes’ Award for their behind-the-scenes work to advance water power.
NHA presents Congressional Staff with Unsung Hero Awards; from left to right: Malcolm Woolf, Hali Gruber, Kai Fujisawa, Matt Allen (NHA’s Legislative Director)
To help further affirm hydro’s many benefits, NHA launched its new advertising campaign for 2025 titled “Power America. Invest in Hydropower” in conjunction with Water Power Week. The ad is geared towards lawmakers and agenda setters in Washington D.C., and the main message is straightforward: Congress should preserve and enhance existing hydropower.
Through the pathways created by the proposed Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration Act, which would extend a 30% investment tax credit for upgrades to the existing hydropower fleet, NHA’ s ad argues that supporting this legislation protects hydro’s ability to provide secure and reliable electricity for generations to come.
Click to watch NHA’s new hydro ad!
HYDRO’S ROLE IN MANAGING LOAD GROWTH
The rise of data centers and transportation electrification are driving energy demand in the United States. With a projected growth rate of 2% annually, the U.S. is looking at a 300% growth in data center energy consumption over the next ten years.
To meet this incredible need, an all-of-the-above approach to energy resources is required, and water power, which offers unmatched flexibility and reliability, is primed to help.
At Water Power Week, the session “Baseload for the Digital Age: How Hydropower Can Support Data Center Expansion” was particularly salient, as it examined how behind-the-meter hydro solutions are emerging as a key strategy for data centers looking to balance high-performance computing with investor certainty and grid resilience.
Baseload for the Digital Age Session at Water Power Week; from left to right: Sharon Midgley (Constellation), Andrew Weber (Digital Power Optimization), Tom Cuthbert (Emrgy), and Paul Dietz (Grant County PUD)
This topic was expanded on in a recent POWERHOUSE article by Michael Purdie, NHA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Markets.
Purdie’s article – Understanding the Impact of Large Energy Consumers Co-Locating with Power Generation Facilities – explores how after years of stagnating domestic energy growth, rising demand has created new challenges, which could include higher costs for consumers, delays in interconnecting new resources, and reconsideration of retiring traditional energy resources.
Some large electricity consumers, like data centers, have begun to co-locate their operations with existing power generation facilities. Yet this approach has challenged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to address the regulatory complexities such actions create. As recently as last year, FERC recognized that broader policy reforms would be needed to direct the increasing interest in co-location.
FERC’s presence at Water Power Week speaks to the Commission’s continued interest in working with industry to resolve some of water power’s biggest challenges and priorities, such as improving the licensing and relicensing process.
With two sessions focused on FERC – Hear from FERC Staff and Unique Insight from Former FERC Commissioners: Hydropower’s Regulatory Landscape and Future Pathways – Water Power Week also welcomed two current Commissioners as guest speakers.
During the April 1 plenary, NHA’s CEO and President, Malcolm Woolf, sat down with FERC Commissioners David Rosner and Lindsay See for a ‘fireside chat’ covering critical policy development, regulatory challenges and opportunities, and water power’s market dynamics.
From left to right: Commissioner See, Commissioner Rosner, and Malcolm Woolf
Both Rosner and See, who were confirmed in 2024, have previously spoken about hydro’s importance to the U.S. energy mixture, and their comments during the dialogue with Woolf further affirmed their support for water power.
The conversation also touched on load growth, which the commissioners stressed was a critical issue facing the nation. To this point, Commissioner See said, “I see hydro as an incredibly important way of meeting this need [load growth];” Commissioner Rosner agreed, stating, “We need every available electron.”
Fortunately, the flexibility and reliability of water power is primed to rise to the moment, and one such solution involves tapping into the United States’ incredible marine energy potential. According to a study conducted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the technical resource potential of marine energy in the U.S. was estimated to be 2,300 terra-watt hours (TWh) per year, which is equivalent to 57% of the electricity generated in the U.S. in 2019.
Water Power Week session “Connecting the Ocean to Grid: Key Infrastructure for Marine Energy Integration” delved deeper into what is needed to bring marine energy onto the grid, looking at both utility-scale and microgrid applications, by sharing real-world examples from those who have done it. The session featured presenters from 3U Technologies, University of Hawaii, ORPC, Inc., and PacWave, who spoke about the benefits of preparing the grid for marine energy along with the policy and regulatory frameworks necessary to support infrastructure development while enabling a reliable, resilient, and scalable marine energy industry.
The construction team prepares to install the roof on the Control Building at PacWave’s Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility.
On the final day of Water Power Week, NHA recognized Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) with NHA’s Legislator of the Year Award. Rep. Bonamici has been instrumental in pushing for greater investment in hydropower and marine energy, including leading an annual water power appropriations “Dear Colleague” Letter within Congress. Rep. Bonamici’s strong support for the Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office has been instrumental in advancing innovative hydropower and marine energy initiatives, paving the way for an advanced, modernized water power industry to meet the country’s growing energy needs.
From left to right: Malcolm Woolf, Rep. Bonamici, Sarah Henkel (Pacific Marine Energy Center)
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For a full review of the Water Power Week in Washington 2025 conference program and speaker lineup, visit the event website.
