Back to All
Looking for a needle in a haystack isn’t easy, unless you have a powerful tool to help you search.
The new Hydropower eLibrary is just the tool for users looking for hydropower information in the massive Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) eLibrary. Developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with support from the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office (DOE WPTO), the Hydropower eLibrary is a comprehensive repository of FERC’s hydropower-related documents and data, accessed using a streamlined and powerful search tool.
Looking for environmental impact assessments on a specific hydro project? Trying to find active projects in a region? Interested in the license and amendment history of a specific hydro project? The Hydropower eLibrary is your new go-to tool.
UNDERSTANDING THE UTILITY OF THE HYDRO eLIBRARY
Who is the Hydropower eLibrary for? Anyone who wants to quickly access hydropower information from the FERC eLibrary database via a simplified interface—hydropower owners and operators, consultants, and regulatory agencies to name a few.
What is special about the Hydropower eLibrary? In addition to providing a streamlined search experience, the Hydropower eLibrary offers unique built-in features. Users can quickly filter search results by key document types or see the most-accessed documents. There’s even an interactive map of U.S. hydropower projects with active licenses, so users can easily click on a specific location and find all available information for that project.
When and where will the eLibrary be available? It’s available now at https://hydropowerelibrary.pnnl.gov/.
Why should I use the Hydropower eLibrary? The Hydropower eLibrary is a user-friendly tool designed to save you time when searching for hydropower information contained in the FERC eLibrary. With just a few mouse clicks, this search tool delivers highly-relevant search results and useful insights through data visualizations.
HOW CAN YOU USE THE HYDROPOWER eLIBRARY?
The Hydropower eLibrary was designed with its users in mind, creating a simple search experience that’s powerful enough to deliver meaningful results. Searches require a few initial criteria and results can be honed using custom filters to find highly-relevant key documents all in one place—like an active license and its associated amendments over time. Data visualizations also show the types of documents and dates of hydropower information in the repository.
In addition to simplifying search criteria, the Hydropower eLibrary offers multiple ways to access FERC’s documents and data on hydropower projects. Users can run a traditional search using keywords and project numbers or go straight to the interactive Dam Map to find the specific U.S. hydropower project they want information about—or toggle back and forth between these options.
The interactive map of hydropower project locations combined with easily accessible project details are unique to the Hydropower eLibrary—as is the ability to view the text content of documents on the site before downloading. These features make it simple to find relevant information for a single project or multiple projects in region and to quickly browse relevant documents online.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you’d like more information about how to integrate the tool in your work—or to provide feedback on the tool—reach out at hydropowerelibrary@pnnl.gov.
