How FishSafe™ hydropower keeps more renewables on the grid

The company will install up to 90 of its Restoration Hydro Turbines at three non-powered dams

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Sept. 28, 2021 — Natel Energy, a supplier of sustainable hydropower solutions, announced today it will develop, finance and construct three non-powered dam sites along Louisiana’s Red River in partnership with Nelson Energy, a Minneapolis-based firm that has successfully developed and licensed over $250 million of hydroelectric projects in the U.S. With Nelson Energy as an advisory partner, Natel will install between 60 and 90 of its flagship product, the Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT), to retrofit three existing dams and add 80 MW of renewable power to the grid — enough energy to power 35,960 average US homes each year.

In 2024, we broadened our design range to include FishSafe designs for Francis-style runners, and we removed our design limit on head height. Read the newsletter to catch up!

An overview of fish passage tests conducted with PNNL at our hydropower plant in Monroe, Oregon in the fall of 2020.