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- Asset Management
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- Hydraulic Optimization
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Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Alternative Opportunities for Hydropower
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Travis Douville
This project focuses on identifying alternative opportunities for small hydropower in the U.S.
Technology Application
Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Alternative Value Streams for Hydropower
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- TJ Heibel
This project focuses on identifying alternative value streams for small hydropower in the U.S.
Technology Application
Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
Marine Energy
AMEC Support-SNL (FOA 2234 Support UNH)
Lead Companies
Sandia National Laboratories
Lead Researcher (s)
- Vince Neary
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) will collaborate with the Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC) university consortium under FOA-2234, primarily in an advisory capacity, on the major objectives of Topic Area 2: establishing the AMEC, operating modern test facilities, and conducting marine energy research. The project will be focused on providing support to help establish and operate AMEC as a university-led consortium to address the ongoing needs for research and development (R&D) and testing to advance marine renewable energy (MRE) technologies towards commercialization, and to develop Powering the Blue Economy (PBE).
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Hydrokinetic
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
Conventional Hydro
An Advanced Study of Wind Power Variability on the Federal Columbia River Power System
Lead Companies
Oregon State University
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kelcy Lajoie
Renewable energy, particularly wind power, has increased dramatically over the past two decades. In the Pacific Northwest, the power system has accommodated a large amount of new wind power. The variability of wind power has introduced many challenges, requiring additional reserve generation to be available to maintain system stability. The primary source for reserves is the Federal Columbia River Power System, and the aging dams of this system are believed to be near their limit for providing this service. This paper will explore the dynamics of the power system as a whole, and investigate the relationships that wind power has to the rest of the power system. Several types of studies have been used to examine these relationships including Maximal Information Coefficient analysis, Correlation analysis, and Regression analysis. The results of these analyses demonstrate that the dynamics of the power system changed as wind power was added to the system. The results will also show that the power system is increasingly reliant on resources other than hydropower, including thermal power and interties to California and Canada, to provide balancing reserves for wind power.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
complete
Completion Date
2014
Conventional Hydro
An Analysis of Partial-Depth, Floating, Impermeable Guidance Structures for Downstream Fish Passage at Hydroelectric Facilities
Lead Companies
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kevin Mulligan
A floating impermeable guidance structure (FIGS) for downstream fish passage is constructed as a series of partial-depth panels anchored across a river channel, reservoir, or power channel. If guidance is successful, the fish will avoid entrance to a dangerous intake structure (i.e. turbine intakes) while passing from the upstream to downstream end of a dam through a safer passage route (i.e. the bypass). To evaluate the flow field immediately upstream of a FIGS, a parameterized CFD model of an idealized power channel was constructed in ANSYS Fluent v. 14.5. The design parameters investigated were the angle and depth of the FIGS and the average approach velocity in the power channel. Key findings indicate that a FIGS set at a small angle and deep enough such that the Effective Guidance Depth of the FIGS is greater than the expected vertical distribution of fish approaching the structure will perform the best.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
complete
Completion Date
2014
Conventional Hydro
An Assessment of Energy Potential at Non-Powered Dams in the United States
Lead Companies
DOE, WPTO
Lead Researcher (s)
- Boualem Hadjerioua
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory conducted an assessment on the energy potential at non-powered dams (NPDs) throughout the United States. The laboratories studied 54,391 of the 80,000+ NPDs in the nation to quantify the potential capacity and generation available from adding power production capabilities. The remaining dams were eliminated from the study because of erroneous geographic information, erroneous flow or drainage area attributes, or their height was less than five feet. Quality control and review processes were conducted to ensure that all dams in the study were analyzed as accurately as possible.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
complete
Completion Date
2012
Conventional Hydro
An Examination of the Hydropower Licensing and Federal Authorization Process
Lead Companies
DOE, WPTO
Lead Researcher (s)
- Brenda Pracheil
Permitting and regulation are necessary to ensure hydropower projects comply with statutory requirements and meet multiple stakeholder priorities that consider the range of other important water uses. However, the process to acquire a license for an individual development project is uncertain at best, impacting the length and cost of project development. This project was completed in October 2021 with issuance of a report that provides analysis of the hydropower regulatory process including licensing costs, timelines, and developer risks associated with hydropower licensing. A link to this report can be found here: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/79242.pdf with report timeline and cost data found here: https://hydrosource.ornl.gov/dataset/hydropower-licensing-timeline-and-cost-dataset Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
Conventional Hydro
Analysis of environmental DNA from sediments for detection of invasive dreissenid mussels
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Yale Passamaneck
The proposed work will test the utility of DNA analysis on sediments for detection of low abundance populations of invasive dreissenid mussels. Many reservoirs considered to be at low risk for establishment of invasive dreissenid mussels are sampled infrequently due to allocation of limited resources. Such infrequent sampling decreases the probability of detecting an introduction of mussels should it occur. Because DNA is expected to have a longer persistence in sediments that in open water, sampling and analysis of sediments should provide an additional means for detection of invasive dreissenid introductions in infrequently samples waters.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2022
Pumped Storage
Analysis of the Effects of Pre-whirl on the Efficiency and Operating Range of Hydro Pumps used in Pumped Storage Facilities
Lead Companies
The Pennsylvania State University
Lead Researcher (s)
- Keith Martin
This paper discusses the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to a case study of a hydraulic pump turbine operating in pumping mode. Emphasis is on the effects of induced pre-whirl on flow patterns through the impeller and on pump performance. ANSYS R Fluent, Academic Research, Release 14.0, software is used to model three-dimensional (3D) Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a k − ω SST turbulence model. Full-wheel fixed rotor simulations are used to identify operating parameters that are used in more computationally intensive full-wheel moving mesh simulations.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Powerhouse Pump
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
complete
Completion Date
2015
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Luciana Ciocci at: luciana@hydro.org