On April 11, 2014, the funding opportunity titled “Water Power Manufacturing" was released by the Water Power Program to support the application of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques to the development of new hydropower technologies. There is a significant opportunity across the country to increase the efficiency of existing equipment or add new hydropower generating capabilities at low-head sites. These types of waterways are often present at existing non-powered dams, canals, and conduits across diverse areas of the United States.


In order to fully take advantage of the generating capacity of these existing resources, it is necessary to develop low-cost, integrated hydropower turbine-generator sets that can produce cost-competitive electricity from these low-head sites. To best utilize these waterways, the following criteria are essential in the design of new hydropower turbine-generators:


• Lightweight, modular, self-contained, and easily shipped and installed upon delivery.
• Able to operate efficiently at variable speeds in a diverse range of water conditions.
• Cost competitive and able to compete with local pricing while producing energy at a less than $2,000 per kilowatt or at a levelized cost of less than $0.06 per kilowatt hour. 
• Ecologically non-disruptive.
• Use of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques to maximize efficiency and improve performance, survivability, and reparability while minimizing the overall production cost.


Read the full Funding Opportunity Announcement on the Department of Energy’s Funding Opportunity Exchange.


To learn about funding opportunities available through the Water Power Program, please visit the Financial Opportunities Web page. To receive timely news updates, please subscribe to the Water Power Program’s Breaking News Updates.