Researchers created the waterSHED tool to help demonstrate the design, operation, and feasibility of new, small hydropower projects at streams and sites with existing water infrastructure.
Water Power Technologies Office
March 1, 2023
minute read time
HYDROPOWER PROGRAM
Innovations for Low-Impact Hydropower Growth
Project Name: Standard Modular Hydropower Technology Acceleration
Project Team: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (lead) and Natel Energy
Lead Recipient Location: Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed and launched the Water Allocation Tool Enabling Rapid Small Hydropower Environmental Design (waterSHED) tool, which aims to reduce the time and money developers must spend evaluating the design, operation, and feasibility of new, small hydropower projects at streams and sites with existing water infrastructure like non-powered dams. By rapidly evaluating potential sites, developers can quickly determine how to best use existing water resources to provide power and support environmental services like fish and sediment passage. The expedited optimization process—which uses novel metrics for economic, environmental, and social performance to help quantify design tradeoffs and identify win-win scenarios—saves developers time and money during site evaluation.
Results from tests of the waterSHED tool, which is a Python application, were discussed in several case studies. This includes one study by Natel Energy that evaluated the costs and potential benefits related to fish passage for the company’s turbine design compared to conventional designs.
The tool currently exists as open-source code with multiple user-friendly functionalities. Future testing and industry case studies could make it even more user-friendly and prove the waterSHED tool could be an important part of small hydropower development.
Innovations for Low-Impact Hydropower Growth Projects
-
Natel Energy’s Restoration Hydro Turbine is the first in the industry to enable safe passage for large and small fish while also meeting installation configurations for a wide variety of hydropower facilities. -
Researchers created and tested a composite hydropower turbine runner blade and found it performed nearly identically to traditional blades made of stainless steel. -
An Oak Ridge National Laboratory report found opportunities to develop hydropower on conduits in every state, totaling 1.41 gigawatts of new generating potential. -
Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed two tools and published a report to aid developers making decisions about whether to add power-generating infrastructure to dams that currently do not generate power. -
Natel Energy developed its Restoration Hydro modular concept, which combines watershed restoration efforts with new hydropower development.
WPTO's Hydropower e-newsletter features news on R&D and applied science to advance sustainable hydropower and pumped-storage technologies.
The WPTO e-newsletter brings funding opportunities, events, publications, hydropower, and marine energy updates directly to your inbox.