The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) today launched the Hydropower Operations Optimization (H2Os) Prize, which will award up to $75,000 to innovators developing new solutions that can help advance hydropower’s contribution to the grid.  

As the United States works to decarbonize the power grid by 2035, hydropower’s evolving role will be crucial to improving the grid’s reliability, resilience, and overall performance. Hydropower technologies are versatile and dependable and can be dispatched quickly, including for black start power restoration. However, estimates of hydropower availability and water management practices often lead to underutilization of existing hydropower resources. 

“Hydropower provides flexible, on-demand power that is critical to integrating variable renewables into our energy system,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Kelly Speakes-Backman. “The H2Os Prize will help drive innovative solutions that can expand the role of this sustainable resource to provide reliability and resilience to the grid.“