Working Group #4
Improve the Measurement, Valuation of, and Compensation for Hydropower Flexibility and Reliability Services and Support for Enhanced Environmental Performance
As the grid increasingly depends on flexible resources to support variable solar and wind generation, hydropower can provide services such as frequency regulation, reserve capacity, and black start capability. Yet, many of these attributes remain undervalued in regional energy markets. At the same time, hydropower operators often have limited economic incentive to invest in enhanced environmental performance, such as achieving “low impact” certification or meeting higher ecological standards. Working Group 4 supports ongoing efforts by DOE and others to develop tools that measure and value hydropower’s grid and environmental services, and it explores opportunities to integrate these values into market structures, clean energy standards, and policy mechanisms.
The objectives of Working Group 4 are to:
- Research and develop tools that provide transparency into the valuation of hydropower facilities for a broad array of interested parties involved in licensing and relicensing.
- Develop programmatic and/or market mechanisms to provide additional value to hydropower that is operating at an enhanced environmental level.
- Build a shared understanding of reservoir emissions.
Working Group 4 Deliverables:
Enhanced Environmental Performance at Hydropower Facilities White Paper (2024)
This draft paper presents a suite of attributes defining “Enhanced Environmental Performance” (EEP) at hydropower facilities, including third-party certification, ecosystem restoration, environmental justice, adaptive management, and co-optimization of river health and grid services. The document aims to inform policy, market, and investment mechanisms that incentivize the adoption of practices that bolster EEP. It outlines specific actions, tools, and funding pathways to reward facilities that go beyond compliance requirements in delivering measurable ecological and social benefits.
Working Group 4 Co-Chairs:
- Shannon Ames, Low Impact Hydro Institute
- Mike Purdie, National Hydropower Association