- Show all
- Asset Management
- Buoy
- Canal
- Climate Change
- Controls
- Dam Safety
- Fish and Aquatic Resources
- Future Grid
- Generator
- Hydraulic Forecasting
- Hydraulic Optimization
- Hydrokinetic
- Intake Gates
- Markets
- Penstock
- Regulatory Process
- Renewable Integration
- Shoreline and Riparian Resources
- Spillgates
- Tidal
- Turbine
- Water Resources
- Water Systems
- Wave
Conventional HydroCharacterizing the Predictability and Sensitivity of Streamflow to Monsoon Season Precipitation
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Dagmar Llewellyn
Research Need: In the Western US, warm-season precipitation has historically provided a secondary water source to snowmelt runoff (Serreze et al., 1999). However, increasing temperatures and decreasing snowpack suggest that it may gain importance for water resources management. As such, there is an interest in understanding the predictability of warm-season precipitation, as well as the sensitivity of water resources and management to this source.Understanding the predictability of warm-season precipitation is of particular interest in the U.S. Southwest, a region that is influenced by the North American Monsoon in summer (Adams and Comrie 1997). One of the barriers to using monsoon forecasts has been their low skill in simulating precipitation. However, it has been recommended that any examination of monsoon should consider large-scale circulation, rather than examining precipitation directly (Seneviratne et al. 2012). To this point, Prein (2019) identified large-scale conditions over the U.S. Southwest associated with monsoon precipitation anomalies, and found that they are robustly captured by NCAR's Community Earth System Model (CESM) and other general circulation models. This provides motivation to evaluate monsoon circulation patterns in forecast ensemble products.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Forecasting
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2022
Pumped StorageClosed-Loop Pumped Storage Hydropower Motivations and Considerations
Lead Companies
EPRI
Lead Researcher (s)
- Joe Stekli
In order to integrate large-scale renewable energy generation projects, energy storage—at both the transmission and distribution levels—is essential. A 2018 report from the U.S. Department of Energy forecasted an opportunity for 36 GW of new pumped storage capacity in the United States by 2050. Pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) is the market-leading and most established form of grid-related energy storage in the world today. Its numerous benefits versus other long-duration, grid-scale energy storage technologies include low levelized lifecycle cost.Closed-loop PSH technology, which relies on manmade reservoirs not connected to rivers, lakes, or other natural water features, has been proposed as a way to avoid some of the siting and permitting challenges associated with traditional open-loop PSH. However, the extent to which some siting and permitting challenges can be avoided by closed-loop PSH systems might be limited by project characteristics, such as the clearing of previously undisturbed land and the need for surface or groundwater sources for initial reservoir fill and periodic water withdrawals. Although various regulatory and policy frameworks are advancing to promote the development of closed-loop PSH, there is still variability in how such projects are defined and uncertainty regarding the market and environmental sustainability of such projects relative to competing technologies.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Research Sub-Category
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Cold Spray
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kenneth Ross
Technology for cavitation repair, cold spray repairs involve the impact of high-velocity particulates with the subject material, which strike with such a high speed that they bond with the chemical structure of the substrate. This has the promise of improved performance and ease of repair over other conventional applications.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Cold Spray Process Development in -situ Repair of Hydroturbines
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Chris Smith
The first goal of this project is to produce an optimized cold spray process for cavitation resistance that represents an additional 50% improvement over cold spray processes tested in PNNL’s current cavitation repair program. The second goal is to include the optimized cold spray process, developed as part of this TCF project, in field testing that is being developed as part of a Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Technology Innovation (TI) project.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Commissioning Guide for Hydroelectric Generating Stations
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0386
to provide general guidelines, best practices, and typical reference procedures to assist engineers in understanding, planning, and carrying out the commissioning of major equipment for hydroelectric stations.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Commissioning Guide for Hydroelectric Stations Auxiliary Systems and Equipment
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0398
This guide will provide general guidelines, best practices, and typical reference procedures to assist engineers in understanding, planning, and carrying out the commissioning of auxiliary systems and equipment for hydroelectric stations.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
Expected 2020
- Pumped Storage
Commissioning Prize for Pump Storage
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Bo Saulsbury
Furthering Advancements to Solve Time to Commissioning Prize (FAST Commissioning Prize) that will seek innovative ideas on ways to reduce the time and costs associated with PSH from concept to commissioning. PNNL supports the technical analysis, as well as the voucher program to be supplied to prize finalists and winners.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Regulatory Management Process
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Comparison of next-generation DNA sequencing to traditional morphological identification for environmental monitoring
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Sherri Pucherelli
This research will help determine the benefits, limitations, and accuracy of next-generation DNA sequencing in comparison to traditional taxonomic methods. Macroinvertebrate samples collected from wetlands in Folsom, CA, that were previously identified by a taxonomist, will be analyzed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). DNA will be extracted from both the isopropanol supernatant, used as the fixative and storage media for the samples, and from pooled and macerated macroinvertebrate tissue.The results of this study will help determine how next-generation sequencing can be used to benefit Reclamation projects that require environmental monitoring in response to construction activities, invasive species, habitat restoration, and water treatment.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Compendium of Close Pipe Control Technologies and Options
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Sherri Pucherelli
Reclamation must be able to manage water deliveries and generate hydro-power as its main mission. Invasive mussels impair the ability to move water in closed pipe systems. As the mussels spread in the western US, the urgent need for effective closed pipe control becomes greater. A detailed and comprehensive list of closed piped treatments will be of great benefit to facility operators.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
View LinkResearch Submission
Thank you for considering submittal of your research within the National Hydropower Association’s (NHA) Waterpower Research Portal (WaRP). Once submitted, research information provided to NHA will enter into a review process. This is typically a two-week process, within which, NHA may contact you with questions and/or a request for additional information. Submittal of research does not guarantee posting within WaRP.
Disclaimer
The Waterpower Research Portal (WaRP) is intended to be a resource for learning about current hydropower and hydropower-related research. By including content on the WaRP, the National Hydropower does not necessarily endorse or promote the research featured within the WaRP.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the research housed within the Waterpower Research Portal (WaRP) belong solely to the authors, and not to the National Hydropower Association, its membership, leadership or employees
