DOE Group Awards $34.5 Million For PG&E Hydropower Projects in California

The Dept. of Energy's (DOE's) Grid Deployment Office has awarded $34.5 million to California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The funding will support 19 hydropower projects across PG&E's territory. The utility on September 24 said the money is part of the DOE's Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentive program. The Grid Deployment Office in early September said it was targeting 293 capital improvement projects across 33 states for potential receipt of payments. Oakland-headquartered PG&E on Tuesday said the grant would be used to enhance grid resiliency, to improve dam safety, and to reduce environmental impacts associated with hydroelectric operations. "Hydroelectric power is one of the most reliable, affordable, and efficient forms of carbon-free electricity in our portfolio," said Dave Gabbard, vice president of Power Generation for PG&E. "The federal funds will directly benefit PG&E customers by way of performance and capacity enhancements to hydroelectric projects that will continue to provide reliable, sustainable, and cost-effective renewable energy for decades to come."

Major Hydropower Generator

PG&E operates and maintains the second-largest privately owned hydropower system in the U.S. The utility said it generates some 3,867 MW of electricity through 61 conventional hydro powerhouses, a pumped storage facility, 98 reservoirs, 168 dams, and more than 400 miles of canals, flumes, tunnels, penstocks, siphons, and natural waterways. The utility said the hydropower projects expected to benefit from the federal incentive program are primarily located in Mendocino, Nevada, Plumas, Fresno, Tuolumne, Butte, Amador, Calaveras, and Shasta counties in California. PG&E said it plans major projects at sites including Potter Valley, Lake Fordyce, Lower Bucks Spillway, Lower Blue Lake, Rock Creek and Cresta Cofferdam, Lake Almanor Dam, Courtright Dam, Strawberry Dam, DeSabla, Tiger Creek, Salt Springs, Iron Canyon, Pit 7 Dam, Poe Dam, and Pit 1. "These funds will enable us to continue advancing hydroelectricity and environmental sustainability in a cost-effective manner and will further propel us toward a future where clean energy is accessible and dependable for all," said Gabbard. —Darrell Proctor is senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).