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During the week of May 8, 2023, the waterpower community – both those working in the industry and those affecting the industry — will gather in Washington, D.C., to focus on policy, regulation, legislation, and wholesale electricity markets related to conventional hydropower, pumped storage, and marine energy.
The Waterpower Week in Washington conference, May 8 – 10, 2023, at the Capital Hilton Hotel, is owned and organized by the National Hydropower Association (NHA) and is being supported by more than a dozen industry organizations. Registration is open, with “early bird” discounts available until March 10.
This once-a-year opportunity provides 14 hours of programming related to “top-of-mind” policy-related topics. The detailed schedule of conference sessions has just been released.
The policy conference creates a forum for industry, government agencies, regulators, resource agencies, Tribes and First Nations, and river and environmental communities to learn from and interact with each other.
And, for industry, it’s a time to advocate for waterpower on Capitol Hill, with government agencies, and in front of Administration officials.
What’s more, for the first time ever, Waterpower Week will be the location for the grand finale of two collegiate competitions – the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition and the U.S. Department of Energy Hydropower Collegiate Competition. These two competitions are important tools in drawing college and university students to waterpower career opportunities. Both competitions attract students from over 19 universities across the United States.
HOW IS WATERPOWER WEEK DIFFERENT THAN CLEAN CURRENTS?
NHA now offers two national events each year, says Marla Barnes, vice president of member and industry engagements for the association. Waterpower Week occurs each spring in Washington, D.C., and is all about legislation, regulation, and markets.
The Clean Currents event, which occurs in the fall and moves to a different city each year, is the “super bowl” of the waterpower world, bringing the entire industry – including asset owners and service and product suppliers – together to learn from each other, do business together, and move the industry forward.
Click here to learn more about the differences between Waterpower Week in Washington and the Clean Currents Tradeshow + Conference.
WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA IN D.C.?
“We have the opportunity at Waterpower Week to provide an important ‘deep dive’ on policy- and regulatory-related topics,” Barnes said. The conference schedule reflects that deep dive.
An significant focus of the conference this year is how to take advantage of the staggering amount of money available to hydro project owners and developers in the form of federal government grants, tax credits, direct pay, and loans.
Four “Show Me the Money” sessions, which you can search for here by typing “Show Me the Money” into the search bar, take place throughout Waterpower Week dive into the hydro incentive grants being administered by the U.S. Department of Energy Grid Deployment Office, the many tax credits/direct pay provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act, funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for small hydro and marine energy, and a loan program from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for maintaining, upgrading, and repairing dams.
The session line-up offers enough variety to be useful to a broad spectrum of professionals. Prospective attendees working in or interested in the following will all find sessions of interest:
- FERC relicensing
- Marine energy commercialization
- Pumped storage development
- Small hydro
- Wholesale electricity markets
- Dam removal or hydro project decommissioning
- Government funding for innovation and technology development
- Advocacy with elected officials
Here’s a sampling of sessions being planned for attendees:
- Columbia River Treaty – History, Current Negotiations, and Why It Matters for Hydro
- Effective Advocacy on Capitol Hill
- FERC Relicensing and Compliance: What’s New?
- Grant Writing / Compliance Once Grants Are Awarded
- Hydrogen and Hydropower: A Match Made in Heaven?
- Real-World Applications of Innovation
- Regulatory Issues in the Marine Energy Sector
- Tools of the Trade: Skill-Building and Applications for Negotiations Techniques
