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Media Contacts
![Technology to retrofit nonpowered dams such as the Lake Sequoyah Dam in North Carolina could be tested before deploying to ensure performance and reliability. Credit: Scott DeNeale/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-12/Sequoyah%20png.png?h=3873714b&itok=rYD7mUje)
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have identified a key need for future hydropower innovations – full-scale testing – to better inform developers and operators before making major investments.
![Michelle Kidder received the lab’s Director’s Award for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Science and Technology for her decades-long work mentoring students, teachers and early-career staff. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-11/2018-P04785_0.png?h=7a8a8cdf&itok=hysTNqXX)
Laboratory Director Thomas Zacharia presented five Director’s Awards during Saturday night's annual Awards Night event hosted by UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL for the Department of Energy.
![Conduit hydropower presents opportunities in every state. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-10/Picture1.png?h=3fe30658&itok=8NCUQOmV)
Millions of miles of pipelines and conduits across the United States make up an intricate network of waterways used for municipal, agricultural and industrial purposes.
![A simulation of the planet from the DOE Energy Exascale Earth System Model, one of the large-scale models incorporated in the Earth System Grid Federation led by DOE’s Oak Ridge, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. Credit: LLNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-10/E3SM%20nAtlHurricanesTake2.0557_trsp.png?h=4fe6ae66&itok=WSM8rX_c)
The Earth System Grid Federation, a multi-agency initiative that gathers and distributes data for top-tier projections of the Earth’s climate, is preparing a series of upgrades.
![ORNL is studying how climate change may impact water availability for hydropower facilities such as the Shasta Dam and Lake in California. Credit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/Shasta%20Dam.png?h=2664774c&itok=F-QELlkQ)
ORNL has provided hydropower operators with new data to better prepare for extreme weather events and shifts in seasonal energy demands caused by climate change.
![Researchers used quantum Monte Carlo calculations to accurately render the structure and electronic properties of germanium selenide, a semiconducting nanomaterial. Credit: Paul Kent/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/ECP-storytip_0.png?h=e58db2e8&itok=ZzbB2Z-f)
A multi-lab research team led by ORNL's Paul Kent is developing a computer application called QMCPACK to enable precise and reliable predictions of the fundamental properties of materials critical in energy research.
![Melton Hill Dam](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-08/Melton%20Hill%20Dam_Thumbnail.jpg?h=10d202d3&itok=2XzUkPIq)
To further the potential benefits of the nation’s hydropower resources, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed and maintain a comprehensive water energy digital platform called HydroSource.
![non-powered dam](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-07/hydropower-resized_0.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=SQEPNh78)
Although more than 92,000 dams populate the country, the vast majority — about 89,000 — do not generate electricity through hydropower.
![ORNL researchers deploy a gas trap to measure ebullitive (bubbling) emissions of methane at the Melton Dam in East Tennessee. The trap is deployed for ~ 24 hours to allow gas to accumulate in the trap. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, US Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/2022-P04233.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=rKz5qh7F)
As the United States moves toward more sustainable and renewable sources of energy, hydropower is expected to play a pivotal role in integrating more intermittent renewables like wind and solar to the electricity grid
![Doug Kothe](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/2021-P10876_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=TsPrUDyR)
Doug Kothe has been named associate laboratory director for the Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate at ORNL, effective June 6.