New Technologies and Advanced Manufacturing

Only 3% of the nation’s roughly 90,000 dams are currently equipped with electricity-generating equipment. Existing NPDs can be retrofitted for hydropower generation without the costs and impacts of additional dam construction. WPTO seeks to: 

• Classify NPDs: Perform a study to classify existing U.S. NPDs based on key attributes relevant for hydropower development and integrate those findings into a user-friendly geospatial tool. 
• Develop new technologies for powering NPDs: Informed by the classification study, develop design guidelines incorporating lessons learned about standardization and modularity, and support development of new technologies and construction methods to cost-effectively power NPDs. 
• Test new technologies for powering NPDs: Evaluate the performance of new technologies and methods for NPDs at a partial and/or full scale. 

Conduit hydropower projects can be developed on existing water-conveyance structures, such as irrigation canals or pressurized pipelines that deliver water to municipalities, industry, or agricultural water users. There are many thousands of miles of existing conduits in the United States that transport water. WPTO seeks to: 

• Assess hydropower resource potential at existing conduits: Identify existing U.S. water conveyance systems and quantify available hydropower resource potential. 
• Develop new hydropower technologies for conduit applications: Develop technologies and methods to cost-effectively add hydropower to existing conduits and canals.  
• Test new technologies for conduit applications: Evaluate the performance of developed technologies for conduits and canals at a partial and/or full scale. 
• Demonstrate new conduit technologies: Conduct a field demonstration to validate new technologies at an existing conduit or canal.  

Over the last decade, advanced manufacturing has revolutionized many parts of the energy sector, providing several benefits over conventional manufacturing techniques, such as enhanced design flexibility, decreased energy consumption, lower costs, and reduced time to market. WPTO seeks to: 

• Identify high-impact advanced manufacturing opportunities: Utilize creative funding mechanisms to identify advanced manufacturing opportunities for hydropower applications. 
• Incorporate advanced manufacturing into designs: Incorporate advanced manufacturing and materials with the potential to reduce costs or increase performance into the design of hydropower components. 
• Test new advanced manufacturing technologies: Evaluate the performance of new advanced manufacturing technologies and methods at a partial and/or full scale. 
• Demonstrate new advanced manufacturing technologies: Conduct a field demonstration to validate new advanced manufacturing technologies and methods in a real-world site. 

New stream-reach development refers to new hydropower development in stream-reaches that do not currently have water infrastructure. Exploring hydropower capabilities in these untapped areas can result in new projects that generate renewable energy while preserving and, in some cases, enhancing stream functionality. WPTO seeks to: 

• Quantify benefits of standardization and modularity: Perform studies into past investments to quantify the potential benefits—such as increased environmental compatibility, lower costs, and shorter construction times—of standardization and modularity for new hydropower development. 
• Design new standard modular technologies: Use the results of techno-economic studies to revise design guidelines and support development of new standard modular technologies. 
• Test new standard modular technologies: Evaluate the performance of new standard modular technologies at a partial and/or full scale.