Federal Hydropower Coordinating Committee

Stored: Federal Hydropower Coordinating Committee

Federal Hydropower Coordinating Committee Type: Boards, Commissions, and Committees Parent organization: Department of Energy Top organization: Department of Energy Employees: Executive: Chair Budget: Address: 1000 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA Website: https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/federal-hydropower-memorandum-understanding Creation Legislation: Memorandum of Understanding on Federal Hydropower (2020) Wikipedia: Federal Hydropower Coordinating Committee

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Mission Federal Hydropower Coordinating Committee optimizes hydropower and safety, advancing tech and stewardship for clean energy.

Services Hydropower technology research; stakeholder coordination; environmental impact mitigation

Regulations

Federal Hydropower Coordinating Committee (FHCC) is a collaborative body established to streamline federal efforts in managing and advancing hydropower across U.S. government agencies, focusing on the nation’s 2,500+ federal hydropower facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation, USACE, and power marketing administrations like Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). Formed under a 2020 MOU, it drives interagency cooperation to enhance generation efficiency, modernize infrastructure, and integrate renewable energy goals while addressing environmental and safety priorities.

Official Site

Mission

The FHCC’s mission is to foster a unified federal approach to hydropower by coordinating the expertise of DOE, DOI, and USACE to accelerate technology innovation, improve operational efficiency at federal dams, and ensure environmental sustainability. It supports America’s clean energy transition by leveraging hydropower’s 28 GW of installed capacity (as of 2021) and promoting research into low-impact technologies and stakeholder-inclusive decision-making.

Parent organization

The FHCC is chaired by the Department of Energy, which leads its strategic direction and hosts its primary coordination efforts through the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO). The Department of Energy serves as its top organization, aligning FHCC activities with national energy policy objectives.

Legislation

The FHCC was created through the Memorandum of Understanding on Federal Hydropower signed on October 14, 2020, by DOE, DOI, and USACE, building on prior MOUs from 2000, 2005, and 2010.

Partners

The FHCC includes:

• Department of Energy (chair)
• Department of the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Power Marketing Administrations (e.g., Bonneville Power Administration) for marketing hydropower

Number of employees

The FHCC does not have dedicated employees but draws staff from its member agencies—DOE, DOI, and USACE—totaling thousands across these organizations, though specific FHCC contributors are not quantified.

Organization structure

The FHCC operates as a coordinating committee with representatives from its signatory agencies, structured around joint goals like technology deployment and stakeholder engagement, with no formal sub-organizations but working groups as needed.

Leader

The FHCC is overseen by a Chair, typically a senior DOE official (e.g., Jennifer Garson, Acting Director of WPTO in 2021), rotating or designated based on agency leadership.

Divisions

The committee’s efforts are organized by agency roles:

• DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office leads R&D.
• DOI’s Bureau of Reclamation manages western dam operations.
• USACE oversees nationwide hydropower infrastructure.

List of programs

Key FHCC initiatives include:

• Hydropower Technology R&D for modernization
• Federal Hydropower Summit for stakeholder collaboration
• Environmental Mitigation Projects to enhance sustainability

Last total enacted budget

No specific budget is allocated to the FHCC itself; funding is drawn from agency budgets, e.g., DOE’s $186 million for WPTO in FY 2021, part of which supports FHCC hydropower activities.

Staff

Staffing is provided by DOE, DOI, and USACE personnel, with no distinct FHCC headcount; contributors include engineers, policy experts, and program managers from these agencies’ hydropower divisions.

Funding

Funding is sourced from annual appropriations to DOE, DOI, and USACE, with hydropower efforts like FHCC supported by line items such as DOE’s $186 million WPTO budget in FY 2021 and unspecified portions of USACE and Reclamation budgets.

Services provided

The FHCC facilitates interagency hydropower research, coordinates dam safety upgrades, supports environmental mitigation at federal facilities, and hosts forums like the Federal Hydropower Summit to align agency and stakeholder goals.

Regulations overseen

The FHCC does not oversee regulations directly but influences policy through its member agencies, which administer rules like USACE’s dam safety standards and Reclamation’s operational guidelines.

Headquarters address

1000 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA

History

The FHCC builds on a history of federal hydropower coordination, with MOUs in 2000, 2005, and 2010 preceding the current 2020 MOU signed on October 14, 2020. It emerged from efforts to unify DOE’s R&D, DOI’s western hydropower operations, and USACE’s nationwide dam management, reflecting a renewed focus on hydropower’s role in clean energy post-COVID recovery.

External links

• Official Website
• wikipedia:United_States_Department_of_Energy
• FHCC Update April 2021
• USACE Hydropower