When constructing or updating a hydropower facility, operators face a daunting array of turbine technology choices. The wrong decision can lead to costly delays and reduced profits, while choosing the right technology can boost efficiency, cut costs and reduce development timelines.
To help hydropower operators and developers make informed decisions, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), with support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office, developed the Hydropower Technology Catalog. This comprehensive guide is a powerful online tool designed to help operators select the best technologies in the initial phases of development or upgrading. The catalog displays turbine technologies in a format understandable for anyone from novices to professionals. It can enhance capabilities and help identify the best components for hydropower construction or upgrades.
“The Hydropower Technology Catalog was born out of a project that explored how hydropower can benefit the energy sector,” said Trevor Atkinson, a research scientist at INL, who led the project. “We needed to understand the available and emerging technologies in the hydropower space, and we compiled this information into a catalog so people can connect to companies within the hydropower industry.”
Developing and using the tool
To develop the catalog, INL researchers reviewed equipment manufacturer websites, interviewed technology providers, synthesized results from Department of Energy-funded research, and analyzed published papers and reports.
“Everything in the catalog is up-to-date,” said Atkinson. “We contacted everyone whose technologies we included about their products and linked to their websites.”
The catalog features more than 100 turbine technologies complete with descriptions, applications, performance metrics, costs and potential benefits, where available. The catalog helps users understand elements and site-specific considerations of a given technology.
Turbine technologies included in the catalog can be applied in four main categories:
- Impoundment: Converts potential energy from reservoir water into kinetic energy through an elevation drop.
- Diversion: Requires minimal or no water storage, diverting water to a powerhouse.
- Conduit: Uses tunnels, canal drops, pipelines, aqueducts and other structures.
- Hydrokinetic: Generates energy from flowing water without requiring hydraulic head.
“We created something simple enough that anyone can understand it,” said Atkinson. “The biggest benefit is that anyone can go on the site and quickly identify something that fits their specific needs. They can learn everything they need in the Hydropower Technology Catalog, reducing the timeline for selecting a technology.”
Integrating user feedback into tool updates
INL is committed to continuing the development of the catalog by adding additional features. To ensure it remains up-to-date, INL experts regularly update and enhance the catalog. Recently, details such as turbine efficiency and cost estimations have been added, and the team is working to add a catalog of related service providers, including engineering, consulting and environmental firms.
The catalog is a resource for researchers, developers, policymakers, and stakeholders to understand and compare hydropower technologies. It facilitates informed decision making and supports the advancement of hydropower and American energy dominance. The catalog helps the hydropower industry and developers easily select the best hydropower technology based on site-specific characteristics.
“The Hydropower Technology Catalog is a very valuable, powerful interface tool that is readily available to help the hydropower industry and hydropower developers,” said Boualem Hadjerioua, the director of hydro operations at Mesa Associates Inc., and a catalog user.
For more information, visit the Hydropower Technology Catalog’s website or contact Trevor Atkinson at trevor.atkinson@inl.gov.
About Idaho National Laboratory
Battelle Energy Alliance manages INL for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. INL is the nation’s center for nuclear energy research and development, and also performs research in each of DOE’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and the environment. For more information, visit www.inl.gov.
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