Senator Murkowski And Colleagues Lead on Legislation to Bolster Hydropower

Senator Murkowski And Colleagues Lead on Legislation to Bolster Hydropower

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has introduced two new measures to help unleash hydropower and marine energy's full potential. The Fair Licensing for Operations of Water Structures (FLOWS) Act, which was introduced with Senator Angus King (I-ME), provides common sense permitting reform for hydropower and marine energy projects by reducing administrative burdens on project developers and accelerating federal decision-making on licensing. The Water Power Research and Development Act, introduced with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), will reauthorize Department of Energy (DOE) programs that support marine energy and next-generation hydropower projects across the country.

"Hydropower is one of Alaska's most abundant resources, providing clean, consistent, and affordable baseload power to communities across our state, but it remains underutilized and subject to unnecessary permitting delays," Senator Murkowski said. "Operators shouldn't have to wait months-or even years-for approval to perform routine maintenance or make minor, non-impactful changes. The targeted, practical reforms in my FLOWS Act better reflect how modern hydropower facilities operate and will help lower energy costs for Alaskan families. I'm also proud to lead on the reauthorization of the Water Power Research and Development Act, which will reauthorize the Water Power Technologies Office and ensure the Department of Energy focuses on marine energy across the country for another five years. This Office, which I championed in the Energy Act of 2020, has made seven awards to marine energy projects in Alaska over the last 15 years, helping to broaden our energy portfolio across the state."

"Hydropower is an integral piece of a successful 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy, but is underutilized due to the existing burdensome permitting process," said Senator King. "The FLOWS Act is a commonsense step to streamline the licensing and permitting of this crucial renewable energy source and can help create reliable, clean, and affordable energy for Maine people and Americans for years to come."

"There's no question more needs to be done to meet our country's skyrocketing energy demand, and marine energy and advances in hydropower have a key role to play in that," said Senator Wyden. "This bipartisan proposal will help the United States increase energy supply and meet the growing needs of communities across Oregon and the country."

"The FLOWS Act is a commonsense, bipartisan fix that cuts red tape for routine, non-substantial work so hydropower operators can focus on what matters most: dam safety, reliability, and keeping power affordable," said Malcolm Woolf, President & CEO, National Hydropower Association. "It also creates a necessary pathway for wave, tidal, and river-current technologies to get into the water faster and prove their value to America's clean energy future. By modernizing outdated processes, this bill will help preserve today's hydropower fleet while unlocking tomorrow's innovation. NHA thanks Sens. Murkowski and King for introducing this legislation and urges swift passage in the Senate. NHA also applauds Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Wyden for their recent introduction of the Water Power Program reauthorization. After securing record funding for the Water Power Program through the FY26 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, a strong reauthorization of the Water Power Program at the Department of Energy will allow the water power industry to flourish with strong direction to the department in helping both the existing conventional hydropower fleet as well as leveraging department resources to research and deploy the next generation of marine energy technologies."

"Alaska Power Association appreciates Senator Murkowski's sustained leadership in advancing the opportunities of Alaska's immense waterpower resources," said Crystal Enkvist, Alaska Power Association Executive Director. "Hydropower and emerging marine energy technologies play an essential role in supporting reliable, affordable, and resilient power for communities across our state. Continued federal focus on hydropower research, innovation, and collaboration will help stabilize the cost of power in Alaska, expand economic development opportunities, and support workforce development."

"The American Public Power Association applauds Senators Murkowski and King for introducing the Fair Licensing for Operations of Water Structures (FLOWS) Act," said Scott Corwin, President & CEO, American Public Power Association. "Requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval of non-substantial alterations and routine maintenance at hydropower projects does not make any sense. This bill frees project owners of those administrative burdens so that they can keep the power flowing. Hydropower is a cornerstone of our nation's reliable electric system, and we thank Senators Murkowski and King for their work to ensure it stays that way."

"CRES applauds the introduction of the Fair Licensing for Operations of Water Structures (FLOWS) Act, which takes a practical approach to modernizing the permitting process for water power projects," said Heather Reams, President and CEO of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions. "Hydropower, marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies are essential components of an all-of-the-above energy portfolio, and this bill represents a positive step toward a more efficient and predictable permitting process."

Background on FLOWS Act

Current federal permitting processes for hydropower and marine energy projects contain redundancies and inefficiencies that unnecessarily delay project work and increase costs. Under existing requirements, routine maintenance and in-kind replacements at hydropower facilities often require prior approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), resulting in months-long delays for activities that do not affect project operations, safety, or environmental performance.

In addition, federal permitting frameworks were developed primarily for large, traditional hydropower facilities and have not kept pace with advances in innovative marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies that generate electricity from tides, waves, and river currents. As a result, these low-impact technologies face regulatory hurdles that were never intended for their scale or design.

The FLOWS Act aims to chart the course for a reformed hydropower and marine energy permitting process through the following improvements:

1. Releases hydropower project developers from seeking FERC approval for non-substantial alterations or additions; routine maintenance, repair, or replacement; or seasonal or temporary adjustments in response to circumstances beyond the project's control.
2. Allows FERC to issue short-term licenses of 10-20 years for micro hydrokinetic energy projects, defined as marine energy projects with under five megawatts of installed capacity.
3. Establishes a two-year statutory timeline for FERC to act on micro hydrokinetic energy project applications and requires the Commission to promulgate regulations to implement this timeline within 180 days of the bill's enactment.
4. Requires FERC to submit a report to Congress on the effects of licensed micro hydrokinetic projects on the environment, economy, and electricity reliability and affordability no later than five years after the bill's enactment or after the first 50 licensed projects have been operational for one year.

The FLOWS Act builds on hydropower provisions Senator Murkowski advanced on a bipartisan basis during debate on the Energy Permitting Reform Act during the last Congress and reflects language developed through negotiations that included FERC.

Background on the Water Power Research and Development Act

DOE's Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) was originally authorized in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 on a five-year basis, and Senator Murkowski championed its last five-year reauthorization in her Energy Act of 2020. WPTO administers two programs-the Hydropower and Marine Energy Programs-which made seven awards to marine energy projects in Alaska from 2009-2024. The office's authorization lapsed at the end of 2025.

This measure-in addition to reauthorizing WPTO-updates the office's functions to advance integration with microgrids and data centers, increase focus on workforce development, and promote technological improvements for waterpower so that we can fully realize hydropower and marine energy's tremendous promise to meet national energy demand.

Specifically, the Water Power Research and Development Act:

1. Reauthorizes DOE's Hydropower and Marine Energy Programs.
2. Modernizes program purposes to include increasing efficiency of waterpower technologies and advancing U.S.-based manufacturing through collaboration with universities and industry to reduce costs, improve environmental performance, strengthen grid reliability, and support economic growth and workforce development.
3. Expands hydropower research priorities to address emerging challenges and opportunities, including cybersecurity for hydropower facilities; consultation with state, local, and Tribal entities to improve licensing; incorporation of hydrological impacts and grid modeling; mitigation of invasive species impacts; and support for workforce development programs.
4. Enhances marine energy research and deployment by advancing integration with microgrids, data centers, and offshore power systems; establishing domestic manufacturing capacity; supporting cross-cutting research; enabling cooperative defense-related R&D; strengthening critical infrastructure resilience; and directing research for Arctic marine operating conditions.
5. Updates National Marine Energy Centers by directing DOE to consider cold-water operating conditions when awarding grants and by explicitly adding workforce development as a core mission of the Centers.
6. Improves program administration and coordination by expanding interagency collaboration, modernizing workforce development activities, adjusting strategic planning timelines, and streamlining congressional reporting.
7. Increases authorized funding levels to $300 million annually for FY2026-2030, including $200 million for marine energy and $100 million for hydropower.

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