Hydro Green Energy, LLC (HGE) is a renewable energy development company with proprietary hydropower technology.  The company, which maintains headquarters in Illinois, focuses on developing new hydropower generation at existing, non-powered dams in an environmentally-responsible manner.  HGE is currently developing 29 projects in 14 states, including 12 projects presently in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hydropower licensing process.  Nearly all of HGE’s projects are located at United States Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) dams.

At hydropower sites that have less than 30 feet of head (the difference in elevation between the upper and lower pools at a dam), HGE deploys its “plug-and-play,” low-head hydropower solution that minimizes the civil work and the costly, time-consuming and environmentally disruptive installation process of conventional hydropower.  HGE holds U.S. Patents 6,955,049; 7,837,411 and 8,072,089 on its modular technology. The foundation of HGE’s technology was successfully demonstrated at its hydrokinetic power project in Hastings, MN (FERC P-4306).

In May 2011, HGE secured a substantial investment from Providence Renewables, a renewable energy investment company comprised of electric utility, oil and gas industry executives.  In September 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a $1.8 million grant to HGE to perfect its second generation hydropower technology. 

Hydro Green Energy holds preliminary permits for the development of 230 MW of new hydropower capacity, equivalent to the energy production from approximately 875 MW of solar power or 575 MW of wind power.  HGE’s current projects will provide enough annual power for approximately 137,000 homes and annually avoid 1.9 billion pounds of carbon emissions.  HGE has permits processing on another 360 MW of capacity.  HGE’s low-impact hydropower projects are eligible for a variety of state and federal green energy incentives, increasing their attractiveness. 

In 2009, HGE was presented with the National Hydropower Association’s President’s Award in recognition for the successful licensing and installation of the Hastings Project and for HGE’s industry leadership.  The Hastings Project, which was the first commercial, FERC-licensed hydrokinetic project in U.S. history, was named runner-up in Power Engineering magazine’s 2009 Renewable Energy Project of the Year competition, as well as Renewable Energy World magazine’s Project of the Year. 

The company’s leadership team holds a combined 46 years of experience in the U.S. power sector, over 18 years in the hydropower sector and has developed over 10,000 MW of power generation.