Non-Powered Dam Hydropower Development and Ranking Opportunity Tool
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sapere Consulting, Spokane Valley, WA (United States)
- Mid-continent Independent System Operator, Inc., Carmel, IN (United States)
In pursuit of a net-zero-carbon emissions economy in the United States, non-powered dams (NPDs) represent a large opportunity to develop hydropower while leveraging existing infrastructure. With almost 600 NPD sites in the United States identified as having over 1 megawatt (MW) of potential capacity, only a small portion of the total potential capacity at these sites has been developed in recent years. , Conventional NPD retrofit feasibility analysis primarily focuses on the developer’s perspective but fails to consider the broader impacts of developing a dam, including on the neighboring communities. This tool, the Non-Powered Dam Hydropower Development and Ranking Opportunity Tool (NPD HYDRO), allows users to prioritize or rank NPD sites for future development based on user-defined priorities. Benefits can be evaluated in several categories: the grid, community, industry, and environment (referred to as the four impact scores in the tool as discussed in Section 2.2). In addition, the tool provides the user with a qualitative measure for the feasibility of adding energy storage during NPD conversion, specifically battery, hydrogen electrolysis, and pumped-storage hydropower (PSH). By taking a holistic approach to the potential range of benefits provided by NPD conversions with results tailored to the user’s priorities, NPD HYDRO provides the opportunity for national-level screening and enables users to focus on the sites that are most closely aligned with their interests.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 2448474
- Report Number(s):
- INL/MIS--23-74964-Rev000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Hydropower Potential at Non-Powered Dams: A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Tool based on Grid, Community, Industry, and Environmental Impacts
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