US DOE to Award Nearly $500 Million in Incentives for Power Dam Upgrades

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has picked 293 projects across 33 states for up to $430 million in incentive payments for hydropower facilities that have been in operation for an average of 79 years.

Administered by the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives program aims to enhance dam safety and improve grid resilience at 215 facilities, the DOE said in a media release.

Hydropower currently accounts for nearly 27 percent of renewable electricity generation in the U.S., as well as 93 percent of all utility-scale energy storage, according to the DOE. However, the aging fleet needs upgrades, and the focus will be on improving grid resilience, improving dam safety, and enabling environmental and recreational improvements of hydropower facilities, it said.

These initiatives are complemented by two additional hydroelectric incentives, the Hydroelectric Production Incentives, providing incentive payments to qualified hydroelectric facilities for electricity generated and sold, and the Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentives, providing payments to increase power generation from the nation’s existing hydropower fleet.

The 293 selected projects aim to strengthen grid resilience at hydropower dams by replacing or upgrading turbines and generators, upgrading control systems, upgrading cables and transformers, and upgrading penstocks that transport water to the turbines.

The projects also improve dam safety by upgrading aging dam infrastructure and strengthening existing infrastructure against extreme weather events. Improvements would include upgrades to emergency spillways, concrete replacement to prevent water seepage, water conveyance repairs, upgrades to gates, prevention of overtopping of dam walls, and erosion repair, the DOE said.

Environmental and recreational improvements include fish passage projects, like fish ladder installation, water quality projects, and the creation of recreational facilities and opportunities near the dam, such as expanding water access for boating, kayaking, white-water rafting, and even access to walking trails.

The investments also support President Joe Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which aims for 40 percent of the total benefits from certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments to reach disadvantaged communities that have been marginalized due to lack of investment and excessive pollution burdens, the DOE said.

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