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National Hydropower Association’s (NHA) Clean Currents 2024 Conference + Trade Show, held the week of October 7 in Portland, Oregon, was a homecoming for the water power industry. With more than 2,000 registrants (a record!) and 230+ exhibitors, over 27 countries were represented.
During this “by the industry, for the industry” annual event, hydro project owners and developers, service and product suppliers, government agency officials, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders connected in workshops, during organizational meetings, on hydro plant tours, in CC Central, and during networking events.
From conversations throughout the event, NHA, owner and organizer of Clean Currents, offers observations about three trends emerging from the week:
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
The hydropower industry’s ongoing challenge with workforce development was not lost on the organizations participating in Clean Currents. The threat of an imminent wave of retirements was captured in a 2022 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report titled “U.S. Hydropower Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities,” which determined that more than a quarter of the domestic hydropower workforce over the age of 55 is retiring in the coming decade.
To combat the loss of knowledge this workforce shortage would create, NREL stated the industry must add new, diverse talent to fill jobs and spur innovation. Meeting this need, NHA held the first ever Hydropower System Principles Course, co-located at Clean Currents. This new Hydro Academy, designed by 50+ industry experts, aims to bring the water power community a variety of courses and workshops to aid in continuing education and professional development.
The 8-hour course, which debuted at Clean Currents, had over 100+ attendees, who joined for intensive overviews of everything from the history of hydro to the fundamentals of how projects are designed and built. The Course helps aid the water power industry’s workforce pipeline by providing the opportunity to quickly educate new hires, accelerate knowledge transfer, and broaden the backgrounds of subject matter experts. A forty-hour course will be coming soon!
Before Clean Currents kicked off, the Hydropower Foundation held the Clean Energy Career Expo at Portland State University’s campus. Strategically positioned on a floor filled with engineering students, industry representatives were on hand to answer student’s questions and provide insight into the opportunities, as well as the pathways, available in the clean energy job market.
Meeting students where they’re at is critical for water power, as the industry struggles with a visibility problem, leaving many of its benefits overlooked and un-celebrated. To counteract the stigma of invisibility, NHA hosted workshops and sessions targeted at early educators, introducing them to lesson plans, which are designed to help teach about hydro in the classroom. Students and local Oregon educators were on site at Clean Currents to learn more about the water power industry first-hand.
Clean Currents also seeks to uplift the industry by recognizing award winners – individuals and organizations – for lifetime accomplishment and dedication to water power. During the October 10 plenary, NHA honored winners of the following:
- Henwood Award
- Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters Award (OSAW)
- Rising Star Award
- Julie A Keil Scholarship
- Past Chairs Legacy Scholarship
Following the theme of workforce development, multiple winners of the OSAW Award were organizations which developed programs to engage students in the many facets of water power from learning about the growth and life cycle of salmon to academic enrichment programs with a water power focus. The Julie A. Keil Scholarship and Past Chairs Legacy Scholarship are also celebrations of exceptional students pursuing studies related to the water power industry.
CHARTING INNOVATIONS
Hydropower’s benefits aren’t new, and as the nation’s first renewable, innovation is an integral part of the technology’s enduring success.
Clean Currents was a fitting place to both recognize and celebrate the industry’s development, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who addressed attendees during the October 9 plenary session, connected the dots, stating “Hydropower – which is almost in the DNA of those of us in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) – is going to be front and center in building on what we have already accomplished.”
Hydropower’s role in the electrification of the U.S. was fueled by innovation, and Clean Currents celebrated both the technology’s legacy and its future. For the second year in a row, the Hydropower Heritage Center returned to the showroom floor, providing a space for the industry to celebrate its rich history. Complimenting vintage posters detailing hydro’s support of the nation’s war efforts was an appearance by Reddy Kilowatt – the mascot many companies used over the decades to educate the public about electricity.
Whether attendees were learning about new methodologies and technologies from a presentation at the GE Vernova and the Department of Energy (DOE) supported Innovation Power House stage or collecting stamps for the “Passport to Innovation Challenge,” the event kept innovation under the spotlight.
Featuring five displays and activity areas, the Power House sought deeper connection with attendees by providing specific stations for engagement, allowing connection to each area of effort needed to reach the goal of flexible operations, safe dams, and sustainable approaches by 2050. Born out of the Hydropower Vision Roadmap, which was developed jointly by industry, non-governmental organizations, and DOE, the Roadmap determined that by giving attention to the following five areas in day-to-day operations, the industry could reach the shared vision’s goals by 2050; the areas are:
- Advanced Technology
- Sustainable Development and Operations
- Improved Valuation
- Optimized Regulatory Processes
- Enhanced Collaboration, Education, and Outreach
Over the course of Clean Currents, attendees who engaged with the Power House learned more about a variety of topics, including: cyber security protections and future applications of innovative materials to improve hydro’s performance. The latter compliments an effort by Oak Ridge National Laboratory titled “Rapid Research on Universal Near Net Shape Fabrication Strategies for Expedited Runner Systems,” or RUNNERS, a program which will receive $15 million in funding over three years by DOE.
The RUNNERS program aims to create a system to produce the large runners used in dams for hydropower. This unique manufacturing program for large metal parts could help revitalize American manufacturing while returning clean energy manufacturing technologies to the U.S., as well as greatly reducing waiting times for critical components while enabling economic growth in the manufacturing sector for energy.
While much of the conversation around innovation at Clean Currents pertained to developments in the hydropower field, Oregon’s PacWave wave energy test site had a session dedicated to updates, including more information regarding the site’s planned opening in 2025. PacWave, which has been making news across the United States, will help wave energy developers by enabling real-world evaluation of wave energy converter performance and ecosystem effects. An additional benefit of PacWave will be as a training ground for those interested in future employment in the ocean energy industry.
INVESTING IN PUMPED STORAGE
Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) is a testament to water power’s incredible benefits, with NREL determining in a 2023 report that closed-loop pumped storage hydropower is the greenest form of long duration energy storage.
Yet, PSH developments have been slow to roll out in the United States, and one session “Pumped Storage: Financing New Pumped Storage Hydro and other Long-Duration Energy Storage Projects” tackled the topic, exploring the regulatory and permitting issues inhibiting new U.S. deployments.
The investment potential of PSH remains high, and Rye Development’s Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project, which received $81 million from DOE in 2024, shows that curiosity is translating into tangible results. Lewis Ridge will be one of the first pumped storage projects constructed in the U.S. in more than 30 years, as well as the first to be built on former mine lands.
Projects like the 287 MW Lewis Ridge, which will create more than 1,500 jobs over the course of its multiyear construction, demonstrate the benefits of investing in PSH.
The federal interest in pumped storage was apparent at Clean Currents, as DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office conducted a ‘Deep Dive Workshop’ on its many offerings – including pumped storage hydro – where ‘standing-room only’ attendees were briefed on individual programs and invited to share their perspectives following the presentations. On October 10, which was dubbed Pumped Storage Hydro Day at Clean Currents, DOE joined an in-person meeting of the Pumped Storage Development council to provide an update on activities and programs.
This dialogue is critical, as it allows the industry to speak with the agencies responsible for funding the programs supporting water power across the United States, providing them with a deeper understanding of the industry’s needs. Clean Currents enables attendees to connect via opportunities like the Asset Owner Meet and Greets, utilizing the venue to create inroads for all the industry to communicate.
While pumped storage’s value is well-known to the water power community, expressing that value to outside investors can be a challenge. To aid those conversations, NHA debuted a new tool for the industry to use in advocating for PSH, as well as a session titled “Enabling New Pumped Storage Hydropower,” which highlights the International Hydropower Association’s recent report – a guidance note for decision makers looking to de-risk investments in pumped storage hydropower.
