Needs and Opportunities for Testing of Hydropower Technology Innovations

Abstract

Despite hydropower's status as a well-established technology, changes in the global energy sector have prompted a variety of necessary hydropower technological innovations. Examples include efficient lowhead turbines, more flexible and dispatchable hydropower and pumped storage systems to complement variable and intermittent renewable resources, and technologies providing higher environmental performance. However, while innovative technologies are currently being proposed to meet these development challenges, small hydropower facility owners do not have sufficient risk-bearing capacity to adopt new, unvalidated technologies. This discourages manufacturers from bringing nascent technologies to market and stalls the technological growth of the sector. To reduce the risks associated with new technologies and promote further innovation, systemic (and sometimes unconventional) validation activities and new testing capabilities for hydropower are highly desired. These testing capabilities must demonstrate the safety, environmental acceptability, reliability, and performance of innovative technologies to quantify their value compared with existing technologies. Establishing these capabilities through dedicated testing facilities will be key to promoting hydropower growth in the United States.Following direction from the House Energy and Water Development Committee, the US Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) has been tasked with understanding the state of hydropower testing in the United States. This scoping report discusses the needs and opportunities of hydropower testing in the United States, with a specific focus on small hydropower. Future developments will likely mostly target low-head sites with less than 30 ft (9.1 m) from new stream-reach developments, non-powered dam retrofits, and rehabilitation/upgrade of existing plants.Based on emerging technology trends, testing gaps evaluation, and stakeholder inputs, four overarching thematic challenges were identified for testing hydropower innovations: 10

Advanced Manufacturing and Materials for Hydropower: Challenges and Opportunities

“…Hydropower and PSH innovation to decrease full life cycle costs, increase existing fleet reliability and performance, and enable a US supply chain for components can be achieved through lower-cost, higherperformance materials, designs, and next-generation manufacturing systems. Musa et al (2022) identify advanced manufacturing as a crucial opportunity for hydropower innovation and a recommended target area for investment.…”

“…As shown in Figure 7, hydropower and PSH facilities are complex integrations of systems and subsystems (i.e., the hydropower technology landscape) that require an interdisciplinary and hierarchical treatment to understand their design, function, and manufacturing. For the context of this report, the suite of hydropower physical equipment is subdivided into four main categories, as inspired by (Musa et al 2022): (1) hydraulic powertrain (i.e., turbines and generators);…”

“…Finally, testing is a key part of promoting adoption of AMM technologies because it supports data generation, the development of standards, and improved designs. As discussed in a report on hydropower testing capabilities (Musa et al 2022), full-scale testing is a key testing gap that would lower the adoption risk of late TRL technologies, and advanced manufacturing is a recommended target area for investment. Additionally, AMM could also play a key role in partial scale testing since geometries can often be scaled down proportionally.…”

“…Additionally, AMM could also play a key role in partial scale testing since geometries can often be scaled down proportionally. The report by Musa et al 2022 identifies two initiatives, including a hydropower testing network and a federal test facility, to fill gaps in US hydropower testing capabilities. Industry advisory groups could help determine the types of testing equipment and projects that would best benefit the field.…”