Hybrid Bioenergy and Hydropower Systems: Leveraging Heterogeneous Biomass and Wastes from Watersheds
Sandia National Laboratories and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) explore the water-for-energy nexus in this white paper, focusing on the impact of heterogeneous watershed waste materials on hydropower facilities. They identify key challenges--such as pile burning, wildfires, and debris intercepted at water intakes--that adversely affect both watershed health and hydropower operations. More importantly, Sandia and INL highlight opportunities to valorize these bioresources and waste materials by converting them into usable energy. These opportunities include:
1. Biomass and waste logistics and pre-processing
2. Thermochemical and biotechnology systems
3. hydropower and hybrid energy storage
These solutions can be integrated into large-scale energy grids or localized microgrids. Sandia and INL aim to support the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) goals, with success measured by:
- Reducing wildfire risks
- Improving the performance, reliability, and resilience of hydropower systems
- Facilitating the integration of bioenergy and hydropower into hybrid energy storage systems and microgrids
- Enhancing grid flexibility and sustainability
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - Sandia National Laboratories and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) explore the water-for-energy nexus in this white paper, focusing on the impact of heterogeneous watershed waste materials on hydropower facilities. They identify key challenges--such as pile burning, wildfires, and debris intercepted at water intakes--that adversely affect both watershed health and hydropower operations. More importantly, Sandia and INL highlight opportunities to valorize these bioresources and waste materials by converting them into usable energy. These opportunities include:
1. Biomass and waste logistics and pre-processing
2. Thermochemical and biotechnology systems
3. hydropower and hybrid energy storage
These solutions can be integrated into large-scale energy grids or localized microgrids. Sandia and INL aim to support the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) goals, with success measured by:
- Reducing wildfire risks
- Improving the performance, reliability, and resilience of hydropower systems
- Facilitating the integration of bioenergy and hydropower into hybrid energy storage systems and microgrids
- Enhancing grid flexibility and sustainability
AU - Quiroz-Arita, Carlos
A2 - Cafferty, Kara
A3 - Paudel, Rajiv
DB - Energy-Water Resilience
DP - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO -
KW - Energy production
KW - Hydropower
KW - Bioenergy
KW - Hybrid energy storage
KW - Grid
KW - Microgrid
KW - Biomass
KW - Pile-burning
KW - Waste
KW - Debris
KW - Logistics
KW - Pre-processing
KW - Thermochemical systems
KW - Biotechnology systems
KW - Watershed
KW - Water quality
KW - Water intake
KW - Wildfires
KW - Technology innovation
KW - Stakeholder collaboration
LA - English
DA - 2026/01/16
PY - 2026
PB - SNL
T1 - Hybrid Bioenergy and Hydropower Systems: Leveraging Heterogeneous Biomass and Wastes from Watersheds
UR - https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/62
ER -
Quiroz-Arita, Carlos, et al. Hybrid Bioenergy and Hydropower Systems: Leveraging Heterogeneous Biomass and Wastes from Watersheds . SNL, 16 January, 2026, Energy-Water Resilience. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/62.
Quiroz-Arita, C., Cafferty, K., & Paudel, R. (2026). Hybrid Bioenergy and Hydropower Systems: Leveraging Heterogeneous Biomass and Wastes from Watersheds . [Data set]. Energy-Water Resilience. SNL. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/62
Quiroz-Arita, Carlos, Kara Cafferty, and Rajiv Paudel. Hybrid Bioenergy and Hydropower Systems: Leveraging Heterogeneous Biomass and Wastes from Watersheds . SNL, January, 16, 2026. Distributed by Energy-Water Resilience. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/62
@misc{EWR_Dataset_62,
title = {Hybrid Bioenergy and Hydropower Systems: Leveraging Heterogeneous Biomass and Wastes from Watersheds },
author = {Quiroz-Arita, Carlos and Cafferty, Kara and Paudel, Rajiv},
abstractNote = {Sandia National Laboratories and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) explore the water-for-energy nexus in this white paper, focusing on the impact of heterogeneous watershed waste materials on hydropower facilities. They identify key challenges--such as pile burning, wildfires, and debris intercepted at water intakes--that adversely affect both watershed health and hydropower operations. More importantly, Sandia and INL highlight opportunities to valorize these bioresources and waste materials by converting them into usable energy. These opportunities include:
1. Biomass and waste logistics and pre-processing
2. Thermochemical and biotechnology systems
3. hydropower and hybrid energy storage
These solutions can be integrated into large-scale energy grids or localized microgrids. Sandia and INL aim to support the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) goals, with success measured by:
- Reducing wildfire risks
- Improving the performance, reliability, and resilience of hydropower systems
- Facilitating the integration of bioenergy and hydropower into hybrid energy storage systems and microgrids
- Enhancing grid flexibility and sustainability
},
url = {https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/62},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Energy-Water Resilience, SNL, https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/62},
note = {Accessed: 2026-06-17}
}
Details
Data from Jan 16, 2026
Last updated Jan 16, 2026
Submitted Jan 16, 2026
Contact
Carlos Quiroz-Arita
Authors
Keywords
Energy production, Hydropower, Bioenergy, Hybrid energy storage, Grid, Microgrid, Biomass, Pile-burning, Waste, Debris, Logistics, Pre-processing, Thermochemical systems, Biotechnology systems, Watershed, Water quality, Water intake, Wildfires, Technology innovation, Stakeholder collaborationDOE Project Details
Project Name White Papers on Ideas to Advance Energy-Water Resilience
Project Lead
Project Number WP-062