Hydropower Workforce Development

Hydropower’s importance and relevance to building a flexible and reliable energy grid are becoming more evident by the day. That is why it is crucial to ensure the hydropower industry has a steady stream of skilled, diverse talent as the present workforce experiences a high rate of retirement. The Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) supports the hydropower workforce through a variety of opportunities including collegiate competitions, fellowship programs, and interagency and industry partnerships focused on workforce development. For more information on educational resources for water power, visit WPTO’s educational resources webpage. 

The ongoing programs and resources that WPTO funds to support hydropower workforce development include: 

• Hydropower Collegiate Competition: This competition calls on interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of academic programs to offer unique solutions to complex hydropower challenges. The competition is administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Hydropower Foundation. Applications open annually in the spring for activities that commence in the autumn. 
• Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship: WPTO is a co-sponsor of the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Innovator Fellowship program. The program funds recent graduates and energy professionals to support critical energy organizations in advancing solutions that will help modernize the power system, improve energy infrastructure for transportation and industry, and make the U.S. power system more reliable, affordable, and resilient. The fellowship program is administered by ORISE and applications typically open in the spring. 
• Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship: The Knauss fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The Fellowship matches highly qualified graduate students with hosts in the legislative and executive branch of government for a one-year paid fellowship. Applicants are typically required to submit packages to their state Sea Grant programs in February for fellowships that begin a full year later (i.e., the following February). WPTO routinely hosts Knauss fellows. 
• AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship: This fellowship program provides opportunities to scientists and engineers to work in the learn first-hand about the federal government while contributing their knowledge and analytical skills. Fellows serve yearlong assignments in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government. Applications typically open in the summer, and WPTO routinely hosts AAAS fellows. 
• Hydropower STEM Portal: To grow and spur innovation within hydropower, the industry must inspire the next generation of hydropower workers. To meet this challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy and NREL developed the STEM for Hydropower portal. These resources are designed to help interested students learn and assist educators in their efforts to prepare the next generation of hydropower workers.  

Through the Hydropower Program’s Data Access and Workforce Development portfolio, WPTO seeks to support the next generation of the hydropower workforce.