Letter From Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Marootian

As a country and as a global society, we face an urgent climate crisis. That is why it is so important that we reach our nation's goals to achieve a clean electricity grid by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. At the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), we have an essential role in meeting these goals.

Within EERE, the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) supports technology innovation to enable the growth of environmentally sustainable hydropower as an economically competitive source of renewable energy. The office also supports the research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of marine energy technologies that expand and diversify the nation's clean energy portfolio. Advancing both hydropower and marine energy technologies is crucial to achieving our clean energy goals.

In 2022, hydropower accounted for 28.7% of total U.S. renewable electricity generation and about 6.2% of total U.S. electricity generation. Further, pumped storage hydropower is the largest contributor to U.S. energy storage, representing 96% of utility-scale energy storage capacity in the United States. Hydropower plants contribute significantly to the flexibility and stability of the electricity grid by providing energy on demand. Facilities can ramp up or down and start and stop quickly to ensure communities stay up and running. Hydropower will help the grid remain reliable and stable as we integrate more variable renewable energy sources.

Additionally, there are incredible opportunities for marine energy in the United States. Marine energy technologies transform the tremendous amount of energy in waves, tides, and ocean and river currents into clean electricity. Some devices even harness power from differences in seawater salt level, temperature, and pressure. The total available marine energy resource in the United States is equivalent to nearly 60% of U.S. power generation. Even if we capture only a small portion of this technical resource potential, marine energy could meaningfully contribute to our energy needs and clean energy goals. In the short term, marine energy could serve U.S. coastal communities and provide local, affordable, and clean power to rural and remote island communities, which often rely on expensive shipments of fossil fuels. It could also power offshore work such as ocean-observing equipment or aquaculture farms, increasing energy reliability for ocean industries that typically work far from traditional power sources. In the longer term, marine energy could play a role in transitioning the country's power grid to clean energy.

WPTO's 2022–2023 Accomplishments Report showcases some of the hydropower and marine energy projects underway that will help us realize this incredible potential. I commend everyone contributing to this important work, and I look forward to celebrating your continued successes.

Sincerely,

Jeff Marootian
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
U.S. Department of Energy