The new “On the Road with WPTO” series explores the efforts that have taken office staff across the country to meet with researchers, industry representatives, and other stakeholders working in water power.
Water Power Technologies Office
August 31, 2023
minute read time
Staff in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) sometimes must leave their home bases to travel across the country—and for good reason. How can WPTO staff serve industry, researchers, and citizens without meeting them and hearing what they have to say?
In this inaugural article in the new "On the Road with WPTO" series, learn more about the efforts that have taken office staff from sunny Palm Springs, California, to the rocky shores of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. And see a few examples of where and why they've been hopping across the United States.
At the annual CEATI Hydropower conference, members from the hydropower sector—including researchers, representatives from utilities, and more—come together to discuss current challenges and opportunities. This year, topics ranged from retrofitting dams to extend their lifespan, to planning for extreme events like flooding and cyberattacks. At the conference, WPTO staff:
- Interviewed industry members one-on-one to understand how hydropower supply chain and workforce challenges might be affecting their facilities.
- Gained insight from participants on the effect of weather-related issues, such as major weather events occurring more often and earlier in the season.
- Identified potential collaborators in the areas of cybersecurity and dam safety.
Where: Washington, D.C.
When: April 2023
For NASA’s Earth Day celebration, families, eager young scientists, and science aficionados got a chance to learn all about earth science. As part of that celebration, the American Geophysical Union hosted an “Ask a Scientist” table where experts, including a few on water power, answered questions about their fields and careers. There, WPTO staff:
- Handed out copies of the Spark Squad comic books in which a precocious group of kids explores all things water power. Within just two hours, attendees snatched up every copy!
- Engaged with the next generation of scientists and policymakers, who will help build the country’s clean energy future.
Emrgy, Inc.: Denver Water Site Visit
Where: Denver, Colorado
When: April 2023
In April, WPTO staff visited Emrgy’s Denver-based project. The hydropower company, which has received WPTO funding, is developing turbines that can be installed in existing, human-made infrastructure like canals. Now, Emrgy aims to expand its low-impact, low-cost technologies worldwide. Emily Morris, the company’s CEO, is behind its unique name. After mistyping “energy” over and over, Morris realized her error, “emrgy,” was also a word, meaning “embodied energy.”
During their visit, WPTO staff:
- Toured Emrgy’s Denver Water site, which the company uses as a testbed to hone its technology.
- Got a chance to watch WPTO-funded technology in action and meet with its creators.
At the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WPTO and national laboratory staff, along with additional team members, met with researchers to plan a potential future pairing: marine energy and ocean observation. Marine energy experts from Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory got a chance to see the institute’s Pioneer Array buoy, which captures data on changes in the ocean environment off the East Coast of the United States. Such data could help inform fishery operations as well as climate change and marine research.
During the visit, experts from the institute and the national labs discussed how to power that data collection with clean energy from ocean waves.
Waterpower Week, a conference organized by the National Hydropower Association, brings together the water power industry, regulators, environmental groups, students, and more. At this year’s event, WPTO staff:
- Joined manufacturers, utility owners and operators, and developers to discuss hydropower supply chain challenges.
- Held the final competition events and award ceremonies for the Hydropower and Marine Energy Collegiate Competitions in which students from across the country competed to design solutions to help advance hydropower and marine energy technologies. Of the many students who participated in this year’s competitions, about 150 attended the final event in Washington, D.C. Endicott College and University of New Hampshire won this year’s hydropower and marine energy competitions, respectively!
- Hosted the International Energy Agency’s Technology Cooperation Programme on Hydropower alongside Waterpower Week.
Through the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP), WPTO, along with several other DOE offices, funds technical assistance projects to support communities in their transitions to clean energy. In May, WPTO and other DOE staff met with the wide range of groups involved in ETIPP, including community representatives, experts from national laboratories, and regional energy partners. There, WPTO staff:
- Learned about each community’s energy and broader resilience goals as well as successes and current challenges.
- Discussed how to improve ETIPP to better match community needs.
Keep an eye out for the next edition of “On the Road with WPTO” to see where else WPTO staff went!
Did you know WPTO hosts events, too? Check out the office’s upcoming webinars!
Receive the latest information on WPTO funding opportunities, events, and other news by subscribing to the bimonthly Hydro Headlines and Water Column newsletters, as well as the comprehensive, monthly Water Wire newsletter.