Skip to main content

PNNL

  • About
  • News & Media
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
      • Biology
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Human Health
          • Cancer Biology
          • Exposure Science & Pathogen Biology
          • Metabolic Inflammatory Diseases
        • Integrative Omics
          • Advanced Metabolomics
          • Chemical Biology
          • Mass Spectrometry-Based Measurement Technologies
          • Spatial and Single-Cell Proteomics
          • Structural Biology
        • Microbiome Science
          • Biofuels & Bioproducts
          • Human Microbiome
          • Soil Microbiome
          • Synthetic Biology
        • Computational Biology
      • Chemistry
        • Computational Chemistry
        • Chemical Separations
        • Chemical Physics
        • Catalysis
      • Earth & Coastal Sciences
        • Atmospheric Science
          • Atmospheric Aerosols
          • Human-Earth System Interactions
          • Modeling Earth Systems
        • Coastal Science
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Plant Science
        • Subsurface Science
        • Terrestrial Aquatics
      • Materials Sciences
        • Materials in Extreme Environments
        • Precision Materials by Design
        • Science of Interfaces
        • Solid Phase Processing
          • Cold Spray
          • Friction Stir Welding & Processing
          • ShAPE
      • Nuclear & Particle Physics
        • Dark Matter
        • Flavor Physics
        • Fusion Energy Science
        • Neutrino Physics
      • Quantum Information Sciences
    • Sustainable Energy
      • Energy Storage
        • Electrochemical Energy Storage
        • Flexible Loads and Generation
        • Grid Integration, Controls, and Architecture
        • Regulation, Policy, and Valuation
        • Science Supporting Energy Storage
        • Chemical Energy Storage
      • Environmental Management
        • Waste Processing
        • Radiation Measurement
        • Environmental Remediation
      • Fossil Energy
        • Subsurface Energy Systems
        • Carbon Management
          • Carbon Capture
          • Carbon Storage
          • Carbon Utilization
        • Advanced Hydrocarbon Conversion
      • Nuclear Energy
        • Fuel Cycle Research
        • Advanced Reactors
        • Reactor Operations
        • Reactor Licensing
      • Renewable Energy
        • Solar Energy
        • Wind Energy
          • Distributed Wind
          • Offshore Wind
          • Uncertainty Quantification
          • Wildlife and Wind
          • Wind Data Archive and Portal
          • Wind Resource Characterization
        • Energy Equity & Health
        • Marine Energy
          • Environmental Monitoring for Marine Energy
          • Marine Biofouling and Corrosion
          • Marine Energy Resource Characterization
          • Testing for Marine Energy
          • The Blue Economy
        • Hydropower
          • Environmental Performance of Hydropower
          • Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization
          • Hydropower and the Electric Grid
          • Materials Science for Hydropower
          • Pumped Storage Hydropower
          • Water + Hydropower Planning
        • Grid Integration of Renewable Energy
        • Geothermal Energy
      • Transportation
        • Bioenergy Technologies
          • Algal Biofuels
          • Aviation Biofuels
          • Waste-to-Energy and Products
        • Hydrogen & Fuel Cells
        • Vehicle Technologies
          • Emission Control
          • Energy-Efficient Mobility Systems
          • Lightweight Materials
          • Vehicle Electrification
          • Vehicle Grid Integration
      • Energy Efficiency
        • Appliance and Equipment Standards
        • Building Energy Codes
        • Building Technologies
          • Advanced Building Controls
          • Advanced Lighting
          • Building-Grid Integration
        • Building and Grid Modeling
        • Commercial Buildings
        • Federal Buildings
          • Federal Performance Optimization
          • Resilience and Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Residential Buildings
          • Building America Solution Center
          • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
          • Home Energy Score
        • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
      • Electric Grid Modernization
        • Emergency Response
        • Grid Analytics
          • AGM Program
          • Tools and Capabilities
        • Grid Architecture
        • Grid Cybersecurity
        • Grid Energy Storage
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
          • Earth System Modeling
          • Energy System Modeling
        • Transmission
        • Distribution
    • National Security
      • Chemical & Biothreat Signatures
        • Contraband Detection
        • Explosives Detection
        • Pathogen Science & Detection
          • Threat-Agnostic Biodefense
      • Cybersecurity
        • Discovery and Insight
        • Proactive Defense
        • Trusted Systems
      • Nuclear Material Science
      • Nuclear Nonproliferation
        • Global Nuclear & Radiological Security
        • Nuclear Explosion Monitoring
        • Nuclear Forensics
        • Radiological & Nuclear Detection
        • Ultra-Sensitive Nuclear Measurements
      • Stakeholder Engagement
        • Disaster Recovery
        • Global Collaborations
        • Legislative and Regulatory Analysis
        • Technical Training
      • Systems Integration & Deployment
        • Additive Manufacturing
        • Deployed Technologies
        • Rapid Prototyping
        • Systems Engineering
      • Threat Analysis
        • Advanced Wireless Security
          • 5G Security
          • RF Signal Detection & Exploitation
        • Climate Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Internet of Things
        • Maritime Security
    • Data Science & Computing
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Graph and Data Analytics
      • Software Engineering
      • Computational Mathematics & Statistics
      • High-Performance Computing
      • Visual Analytics
    • Lab Objectives
    • Publications & Reports
    • Featured Research
  • People
    • Inventors
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Lab Leadership
    • Lab Fellows
    • Staff Accomplishments
  • Partner with PNNL
    • Academia
      • Distinguished Graduate Research Programs
      • Internships
      • Visiting Faculty Program
      • Joint Appointments
      • Joint Institutes
      • Linus Pauling Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship
      • Minority-serving Institutions
    • Community
      • Regional Impact
      • STEM Education
        • Resources
        • Student STEM Ambassadors
        • STEM Ambassadors in the Classroom
      • Philanthropy
      • Volunteering
    • Industry
      • Available Technologies
      • Industry
      • Industry Partnerships
      • Licensing & Technology Transfer
      • Entrepreneurial Leave
  • Facilities & Centers
    • All Facilities
      • Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility
      • Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center
      • Energy Sciences Center
      • Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
      • Grid Storage Launchpad
      • Institute for Integrated Catalysis
      • Interdiction Technology and Integration Laboratory
      • PNNL Seattle Research Center
      • PNNL-Sequim
      • Radiochemical Processing Laboratory
      • Shallow Underground Laboratory

Breadcrumb

  1. Research
  2. Sustainable Energy
  3. Renewable Energy
  4. Hydropower

Hydropower

Harnessing energy from water

  • Solar Energy
  • Wind Energy
  • Energy Equity & Health
  • Marine Energy
  • Hydropower
    • Environmental Performance of Hydropower
    • Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization
    • Hydropower and the Electric Grid
    • Materials Science for Hydropower
    • Pumped Storage Hydropower
    • Water + Hydropower Planning
  • Grid Integration of Renewable Energy
  • Geothermal Energy
  • News & Updates
  • Attend a Hydropower Event
  • Publications
  • Projects
  • Explainer Articles

Rivers across the nation fulfill a vital role for our nation’s homes, schools, and businesses—keeping the lights on.

In the United States, 6.6 percent of electricity generated comes from hydropower. In 2019, the Pacific Northwest generated half of the country’s 274 billion kilowatt hours, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Hydropower commonly comes from a dam where river water is stored in a reservoir. Reservoirs can hold a lot of water, like Grand Coulee Dam, or little water like the lower Snake and Columbia River dams. When water is released from the reservoir, it flows through a turbine, spins it, and triggers a generator to create electricity. It’s through this process that hydropower quickly converts kinetic energy from the movement of water into power. 

PNNL researchers are working to learn more about the effects of hydropower on the environment at the Aquatic Research Laboratory.

Hydropower Opportunities and Challenges

As a clean, renewable energy source, hydropower has long been the backbone of the United States’ electric infrastructure.

Hydropower dams serve other important functions, including flood control, transportation, and irrigation. Speed makes hydropower an ideal resource for allowing the power grid to respond in the event of power outages. Adding to this list of positives, hydropower is reliable, low cost, and emits low-to-no greenhouse gases. But this valuable resource can come at a cost to ecosystems affected by hydropower infrastructure and operations.

PNNL is working to advance hydropower capabilities for the nation’s grid, and to support the environmentally sound deployment and operation of hydropower around the world.

One example of PNNL’s hydropower research involves evaluating turbine designs and operations to meet production goals and minimize hydropower’s impact on fish and the surrounding environment. Our researchers also create materials science applications and techniques to extend the life of existing dams.

For hydropower research, scientists design, build, test, and validate their hypotheses at PNNL’s Aquatic Research Laboratory, Bio-acoustics and Flow Laboratory, Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory, Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center, and Applied Process and Engineering Laboratory.

PNNL’s hydropower research is conducted on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office and organizations, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bonneville Power Administration.

Water@PNNLsubscribe

Recent News

JANUARY 4, 2023
Staff Accomplishment

Brenda Pracheil Named Chair of Low Impact Hydropower Institute

Read
Brenda Pracheil
SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
Feature

In the Face of Drought, Hydropower Still Delivers Electricity

Read
Drought effects on Hoover Dam
AUGUST 23, 2022
Feature

Faster Fish Tracking Through the Cloud

Read
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a receiver that can transmit near-real-time information on fish tracking to inform decisions about dam operations that support fish passage. (Composite photo by Cortland Johnson | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
SEE MORE RELATED NEWS

Facilities

Aquatic Research Laboratory

Related Divisions

Coastal Sciences Division
Electricity Infrastructure and Buildings Division
Energy Processes & Materials Division

Research Topics

Renewable Energy Hydropower and the Electric Grid Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization Materials Science for Hydropower Environmental Performance of Hydropower

Contact

Alison Colotelo
Hydropower Program Lead
alison.colotelo@pnnl.gov
(509) 371-7248

PNNL

  • Get in Touch
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Doing Business
    • Environmental Reports
    • Security & Privacy
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Program
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
    • Sustainable Energy
    • National Security
Subscribe to PNNL News
Department of Energy Logo Battelle Logo
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is managed and operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn