Impacts

NREL water power research is advancing the hydropower and marine energy industries and bringing new tools, data, and analysis in wave energy and hydroelectricity to enable a future clean power grid.

Water team stands in group outside laboratory.

NREL's Fiscal Year 2023 Water Power Achievements

Browse through notable highlights and successes in this annual NREL water power accomplishments report.

2024 Accomplishments

80+

Projects with industry, academia, other national labs, communities, and more

R&D organization partnerships

Peer-reviewed publications

$2.3M

Cash awards distributed across 5 prizes and competitions to 85 entrepreneurs and solvers

Meet the Staff Powering NREL's Water Power Research and Development

The research and advances in hydropower and marine energy at NREL is only possible thanks to the hard work of the staff beneath the surface.
Read the profiles in our Beneath the Surface Q&A interview series.

Water Power Awards and Honors

Salman Husain
2023 Best Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering Paper Award at the Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering 2024 conference

Elise DeGeorge
2023 NREL Staff Award (for Community Service)

Paul Murdy
2023 Composites and Advanced Materials Expo Outstanding Technical Paper (for his paper titled Investigating Marine Environmental Degradation of Additive Manufacturing Materials for Renewable Energy Applications)

Nicole Mendoza, Rebecca Fao, Sahand Sabet, and Calum Kenny
Water Power Technologies Office Seedling and Sapling Program Awards (for seven hydropower and marine energy projects)

David Greene, Kurban Sitterley, and Ariel Miara
2022 American Chemical Society Environmental Science and Technology Engineering Best Paper Award (for the article Cost and Energy Metrics for Municipal Water Reuse)

Educational Resource

Explore the virtual NREL-developed Renewable Energy Discovery Island to see water power in action.

"For specific communities in particular places, marine energy could be a game changer."

—Miguel González-Montijo, Graduate Intern

Watch How NREL Is Transforming the Water Power Industry

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Watch more on the NREL Water Power playlist.

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