Meet Nicholas Palso, a Senior Project Manager on our Hydroelectric Power team, where he oversees the Grid Deployment Office's Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentives.
February 5, 2024
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Nicholas Palso is a Senior Project Manager on the Grid Deployment Office’s (GDO) Hydroelectric Incentives Program team, where he oversees the Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentives, which are investing $75 million to enable implementation of capital improvements to hydropower facilities across the country to improve efficiency. He also assists in the management and execution of GDO’s other two hydroelectric incentives: The $125 million Hydroelectric Production Incentives and the $554 million Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives. All three incentives are funded via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help maintain and enhance existing hydroelectric facilities to ensure generators continue to provide clean electricity, while improving dam safety and reducing environmental impacts.
Nicholas was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a Master of Public Administration from Villanova University, and Doctorate in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management from Penn State. He joined GDO in October 2022 after over 14 years at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where he worked in hydropower licensing.
When not working, Nicholas enjoys camping, kayaking, hiking, splitting firewood, marmots, long road trips to the edges of civilization, and watching trains. He once walked back and forth across Death Valley because it seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn’t. He resides in Calvert County, Maryland, with his young son.
What’s one word you would use to describe GDO?
Energetic.
What inspired you to work in the energy and grid realm?
I was recruited by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for my first grown-up job of performing environmental regulation on hydropower projects, specifically for wildlife and outdoor recreation. I have an educational background in environmental resources and public administration, but had no experience in energy aside from doing some studies on boating at reservoirs. In the process of seeking a career in conservation, I learned all the ins-and-outs of hydropower and came to appreciate its role in the nation’s energy production mix.
What’s one thing you wish more people understood about hydropower?
Hydropower not only creates electricity, but it also creates wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities.
What most interested you about coming to work at GDO?
After spending 14 years working with hydropower regulation, I was interested in changing things up and working to promote and improve hydropower in the country. While I do miss focusing on individual hydropower projects and really getting into the weeds—oftentimes, literally—of their environmental impacts, I appreciate that I now have a broader and more far-reaching positive impact on the industry.