We’ve been busy.
Since January 2025, the Trump Administration has instituted sweeping changes across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its sub-offices, redirecting the agency in pursuit of a bold agenda to unleash American energy dominance. As part of those changes, in early 2026, the office responsible for leading DOE’s hydropower and marine energy programs took on a new name—the Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office (formerly the Water Power Technologies Office), or “H2O” for short. H2O was also placed under the Office of Energy Technology in the new Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) to accelerate next-generation energy technologies, and the team is in the process of absorbing staff from the former Grid Deployment Office (GDO) and assuming responsibility for the hydroelectric incentives program.
H2O enables research, development, testing, and commercialization of technologies to advance next-generation hydropower and pumped storage systems, as well as marine energy, to deliver flexible, reliable energy.
Hydropower facilities have long provided Americans with affordable, reliable, and secure electricity—nearly 6% of total U.S. utility scale electricity generation and 88% of utility-scale stored energy capacity in 2024—supporting a flexible and stable electricity grid and ensuring homes and businesses across the country have power when they need it.
While still in development, marine energy can power remote and coastal communities, defense and national security operations, and offshore industries such as seawater mining with a new source of independent, resilient, and abundant energy. The total available marine energy resources in the United States are equivalent to approximately 57% of current U.S. power generation. Even if only a small portion of this technical resource potential is captured, marine energy technologies would make significant contributions to America’s energy system.
Over the past year, H2O staff have worked tirelessly to advance the research and development of both hydropower and marine energy in order to strengthen our nation’s energy security and power our future. From partnering with national labs and private companies to technical assistance programs to negotiating dozens of projects, here are the five biggest ways the Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office has made a splash in the past year: