PNNL

In 2020, the Pacific Northwest generated approximately half of the nation’s hydropower energy, providing electricity to homes, schools, and businesses. With the development of hydropower comes the responsibility to mitigate flood risks, manage water availability and to provide fish populations with safe, uninterrupted upstream and downstream passage through hydropower facilities. Alison Colotelo is the Hydropower Program Manager at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), supporting multidisciplinary teams working on basic and applied research in grid support and integration, water management, fish passage, and more.

“Hydropower is a critical asset for our electric grid, but most of our fleet is aging. PNNL’s research is looking at a holistic approach to supporting and improving hydropower so communities can access reliable renewable energy,” Colotelo said. "Our work looks at how grid updates can improve hydropower’s energy contributions as well as how to keep fish populations safe as we further develop and operate our hydropower resources.”

Her work involves building and working with teams that tackle a diverse set of problems and for the U.S. Department of Energy and the US Army Corps of Engineers. She is the lead for the Reimagining the Hydropower Vision Roadmap a project that’s engaging with the hydropower community to understand how hydropower will help the nation achieve its clean energy goals by 2035.

In addition to her technical work, Colotelo enjoys sharing her passion for science with the community, particularly through through visits to local schools. Every year, Colotelo is involved with the annual Salmon Summit, a program that introduces elementary school children to fish and watershed science.

Colotelo serves as a member of the Hydropower Foundation’s advisory board. She was the recipient of the 2015 Fitzner Eberhardt Award for Outstanding Contributions to Science and Engineering Education Award and a 2013 finalist for Energy and Environment’s Project Manager of the Year. She has also been featured as part of the Women @Energy campaign.

More information

Staff biography

Watch Colotelo talk about her work

Watch Colotelo talk about her work with the salmon cannon in a video interview by Wired.