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Unlocking Hydropower Potential from Environmental Flows for Energy-Water Resilience

This white paper examines how mandated environmental flow (E-flow) releases at hydropower dams can be leveraged to generate renewable energy while maintaining ecological integrity. Environmental flows sustain aquatic ecosystems but often bypass turbines, representing lost generati...

DeNeale, S., Connor, M., and McManamay, R.

Co-Development Opportunities Between Hydropower and Municipal Water and Wastewater Infrastructures

This white paper outlines opportunities to modernize U.S. water-energy infrastructure through co-development of hydropower with municipal water and wastewater systems. It highlights the untapped potential of integrating hydropower generation into new and existing water supply proj...

Chu, A., and DeNeale, S.

Aligning Bytes with Basins to Promote Data Center Growth in the U.S.

This white paper examines the water-energy tradeoffs of U.S. data-center expansion, highlighting how cooling choices, power sourcing, and siting decisions shape local water security, grid resilience, and watershed sustainability. The study focuses on integrating direct (on-site po...

Siddik, M., Turner, S., and Chinthavali, S.

Water System Modernization using Advanced and Resilient Technologies (WaterSMART)

This white paper presents a comprehensive vision for modernizing U.S. water and water-energy infrastructure through advanced, resilient, and energy-integrated technologies. It highlights the pressing challenges posed by aging treatment plants, distribution systems, and stormwater ...

DeNeale, S., Chavez, L., and Chu, A.

Optimizing Hydropower Operations through Basin-Scale Coordination for Energy-Water Resilience

This white paper aligns with the Water for Energy focal area and advances energy-water resilience through basin-scale coordination of hydropower operations. It outlines a transition from top-down management approaches to bottom-up, stakeholder-driven approach to improve hydropower...

Davis, L., Corsair, H., Ossa, D., and Nachman, M.

Quantifying Energy Use across U.S. Water Sectors: A Scalable AI/ML-Driven Framework for Data Integration and Resilience Planning

This white paper explores opportunities to quantify and characterize energy use across major U.S. water sectors, including irrigation, water supply, and water treatment, with a focus on energy for water dimension. A scalable AI/ML-driven framework will be developed to harmonize fr...

Ghimire, G., Bhanja, S., and Martinez, R.

Integrated Planning for Resilient Energy-, Infrastructure-, and Hydro-Scapes

The focus of this paper is nationally-comprehensive, hyper-granular assessment of future energy expansion opportunities and challenges, considering multi-dimensional risks and consequent implications of large infrastructure additions on surface water and groundwater, spanning from...

McCollum, D., Rathore, S., Liu, Y., and Parish, E.