Projects

The growing adoption of intermittent renewable energy resources such as wind and solar power has left U.S. power grid operators with a challenge. These resources currently provide little to no grid inertia, which keeps the system in balance between power generation and demand. Scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have come up with a solution, using signals from pumped storage hydropower projects to monitor grid inertia.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory publishes the Hydropower Market Report on behalf of the US Department of Energy for the benefit of industry, policymakers, and the public.

Recent small hydropower development in the United States has been concentrated on the powering of unpowered water resource infrastructure such as non-powered dams and irrigation canals.

ORNL is analyzing the metrics used to assess the environmental effects of hydropower development, along with a river function framework and a decision support tool that can assist stakeholders in hydropower licensing and permitting.

To overcome the current gaps in hydropower fleet management data, researchers at ORNL are developing data-driven best practices that can be shared with hydropower facilities to optimize value and reliability.

Intake pipes, or penstock, for a hydropower plant. The penstock delivers water from a reservoir or river to hydro turbines inside the plant’s power station.

HydroSource is the most comprehensive and unique National Water-Energy digital platform that accomplishes data stewardship and dissemination for U.S. hydropower stakeholders.

Development of global and domestic pumped storage hydropower has traditionally focused on construction of large, highly customized plants that provide more than 100 MW of electricity. However, these plants are costly and face significant challenges.

Although hydropower offers significant potential for renewable electricity generation and storage, characterization of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from hydropower reservoirs is inconsistent and incomplete, leading to highly variable emission estimates that have ranged from 0.14% to 6.6% of global GHG emissions. This uncertainty can pose an obstacle to widespread adoption of these water power resources.

The Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office has authorized ORNL and PNNL to initiate a Digital Twin for Hydropower Systems as part of its long term effort to support Digital Twin technology.