An Assessment of Hydropower Potential at National Conduits

Abstract

and existing data sets on water systems and power plants. These methods support a consistent, replicable estimate of conduit hydropower potential across 3 sectors and all 50 states, aggregated at the county and state levels. The assessment was conducted at the reconnaissance level, considering resources that could be available for development at the state and national levels using present-day assumptions about conduit hydropower technology.

Hydropower Investment and Public-Private Ecosystem Assessment

“…Additionally, they qualify for net metering in many states, adding an additional revenue stream for on-site generation at facilities with high power demand. These facilities may have more favorable project development timelines through the expedited 45-day regulatory approval process for qualifying conduit projects created by the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 and its amendments in America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, 17 as well as the streamlined Reclamation lease power privilege authorizations for small conduit hydropower development from the Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2013 (PL 113-24) (Kao et al 2022). Further, a recent DOE ORNL report found opportunities to develop hydropower on conduits in every state, which could add 1.41 GW of new capacity and 620 MW within the 5-30 MW range (Kao et al 2022).…”

“…Processes DOE has identified that NPDs and conduits may offer development advantages over new streamreach development and has devoted significant efforts to analyze the available resource potential at these sites (Kao et al 2022;Hadjerioua, Wei, and Kao 2012). Often, these sites offer lower additional environmental impact in the development phase, are more likely to be located near load centers, and have existing infrastructure.…”

Advanced Manufacturing and Materials for Hydropower: Challenges and Opportunities

“…Other existing water infrastructures that could be exploited for hydropower development include conduits and artificial canals. Kao et al (2022) has recently estimated a total of 1.41 GW of hydropower potential at conduits in the United States, stemming from the agricultural sector (662 MW), industrial sector (378 MW), and municipal sector (374 MW). This potential would remarkably add to the 530 MW of existing conduit hydropower projects.…”

“…The introduction of variable and intermittent renewable resources on the grid, such as wind and solar, will impose more flexible hydropower operations and technologies and will require additional energy storage through PSH (US Department of Energy 2016; Rosenlieb, Heimiller, and Cohen 2022; US Department of Energy 2022). According to recent resource assessments and opportunity studies, there is a great untapped potential in adding hydropower generation to NPDs(Hadjerioua, Wei, and Kao 2012;Hansen et al 2021;Kao et al 2022). NPD retrofitting, with a US potential of up to 12 GW, represents an attractive opportunity for hydropower development because most of the construction costs and environmental impacts have already occurred during the development of the structure.…”