WASHINGTON, D.C.-A project in Pasco is among seven awarded part of $13 million in funding from the Department of Energy for the continued development of hydropower.
The funding, announced on September 6, is part of the Biden Administration’s Investing in America Agenda under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
The funding will be used to advance technologies to generate power at dams that currently do not and to accelerate the expansion of pumped storage hydropower according to a DOE press release.
“For more than a century, Americans have harnessed the power of water to electrify our communities, and it’s a critical renewable energy source that will help us reach our climate goals,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm.
Hydropower project in Pasco:
$1,600,308 awarded to Emrgy (based in Atlanta, Georgia) to develop a spillway turbine in Pasco generate hydropower at non-powered dams where the water drop is less than 30 feet or in low-flow conduits, such as existing irrigation canals. Emrgy plans to demonstrate the technology in the south Columbia Basin.
Other projects selected for development/deployment of hydropower:
$2,306.949 awarded to Low-Impact Hydropower Assessment (Keokuk, Iowa): The Electric Power Research Institute (based in Palo Alto, California) will test two models of the Amjet Turbine System, a turbine/generator system designed to add power-generating infrastructure to non-powered dams.$2,880,191 Accelerating the Deployment of PSH Through the Fast Conversion of Existing Conventional Hydropower (Salem, Alabama) accelerate the development and deployment of PSH facilities across the United States by developing a utility-scale solution to retrofit traditional hydropower facilities to serve as PSH facilities.$4,000,000 to Low Cost, 3D Concrete Printed, Modular, Marine Pumped Hydroelectric Storage System (San Pedro, California): RCAM Technologies (based in Boulder, Colorado) will help develop an innovative offshore PSH technology. $2,084,165 Energy Storage Systems for Overpressure Environments (East Texas): Quidnet Energy Inc. (based in Houston, Texas) will demonstrate the feasibility of a novel PSH technology that stores pressurized water underground.$243,540 Novel Approach to Deploying Low-Head Turbines at Drops and Diversions (Sagle, Idaho): Drops for Watts will develop a low-impact, modular system to generate hydropower from existing irrigation infrastructure. $199,435 Deployment of Digital Twins and Advanced Instrumentation to Identify Looseness Between Rotor Spider Arms and Rim Attachment in Hydro Turbines (Atlanta, Georgia): Turbine Logic will use a digital twin, a virtual representation of existing instrumentation, to better predict common maintenance needs in hydropower turbines.
