The Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) 2019–2020 Accomplishments Report summarizes some of the significant results from WPTO-supported research across its Hydropower and Marine Energy (formerly the Marine and Hydrokinetics) programs.

These accomplishments include:

• Successful laboratory and in-water tests of promising technologies,
• Commercialization of environmental monitoring instrumentation,
• The release of new modeling code and decision-support tools, and
• Efforts to improve open access to data.

Many of these projects were supported through our traditional funding opportunity announcements, as well as by leveraging a variety of support mechanisms such as prizes, competitions, and notices of technical assistance. 

This report highlights efforts by awardees, partners, and staff, taking place in laboratories, rivers, and oceans across dozens of states, that drive important scientific advances in hydropower and marine renewable energy technologies. This work will prepare the U.S. hydropower fleet to be a keystone of our renewable energy future and allow the sea itself to become a source of low-cost, renewable energy that ocean industries and coastal communities increasingly depend on.

In the future, WPTO intends to publish these accomplishment reports regularly. This first edition covers successes in both 2019 and 2020 and includes a “Looking Forward to 2021” section, highlighting a few projects that will have significant results in 2021.

Download the full report: