Two years after the U.S. Department of Energy released its Hydropower Vision report—a living document that looks at the potential for innovation and growth in U.S. hydropower generation and storage through 2050—hydropower leaders from industry, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations are convening to assess how the hydropower community has progressed with the activities recommended in the report's Roadmap. The Roadmap details 64 actions to help the nation realize the significant long-term benefits of hydropower.

The group of hydropower leaders, known as Visionaries, are focused on the future of hydropower in five overarching areas set forth in the Roadmap—technology advancement, regulatory process optimization, enhanced revenue and market structures, sustainable development and operation, enhanced collaboration, education, and outreach—to ensure the document continues to be actionable and impactful to the hydropower community.

The Visionaries will identify any gaps in Roadmap activities and focus recommendations on the most impactful research areas in addition to gathering and communicating information across the community to catalyze new partnerships to coordinate activities. The Roadmap activities will help accelerate progress toward future opportunities for growth, optimization, and sustainability.

Having met for the first time in person at Waterpower Week in Washington 2018, the Visionaries, along with other subject matter experts, will hold subsequent meetings on the five Roadmap topic areas on an as-needed basis. Representatives from the national laboratories will facilitate the formation, activities, and progress of these meetings—known as forums. Ideally, the Roadmap forums will be co-led by a member of the hydropower community and will meet two to four times either in conjunction with major industry events, or as webcasts. DOE will issue a Roadmap progress report in 2019, then update the Hydropower Vision in 2021 to ensure it remains relevant as the hydropower fleet grows and responds to the evolution of the U.S. electrical grid.

The Hydropower Vision report found that with continued technology advancements, innovative market mechanisms, and a focus on environmental sustainability, U.S. hydropower could grow from its current 101 gigawatts to nearly 150 gigawatts of combined electricity generation and storage capacity by 2050. WPTO looks forward to continued work in the years to come in helping our nation realize its hydropower potential while protecting U.S. energy, environmental, and economic interests.

Read more about the Hydropower Vision report and its findings on the future of hydropower in the United States.