Dear colleagues,

It has been an exciting year at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and in the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO). Partners across the country led and supported dozens of WPTO-funded research, development, and demonstration projects, contributing to crucial efforts to address climate change and transition our energy system. The hydropower and marine energy industries have essential roles in achieving the Biden administration’s goals of creating a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050.

WPTO and its partners are helping to meet these goals with projects that include a new methodology and tool to value pumped storage hydropower and other long-duration storage assets on the electricity grid. These resources will help developers and investors better predict revenue and regulators better understand these projects’ value. In addition, WPTO supported in-water demonstrations of varied marine energy devices, helping to advance these renewable energy technologies that can support decarbonization goals.

These projects—and the many others featured in WPTO’s 2020-2021 Accomplishments Report—demonstrate the incredible value of water power technologies in our clean energy future. DOE will continue to invest in these technologies and build on the accomplishments of the water power research community with funding provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes nearly $1 billion for hydropower and marine energy programs under DOE. More information on these investments is available in DOE’s fact sheet.

I congratulate everyone who worked on the projects described in this report—and the dozens of additional projects still underway—and look forward to what you accomplish in the coming year.

Sincerely,

Kelly Speakes-Backman
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
U.S. Department of Energy