Waterpower XVI registration discounts end June 30

June 30 is the cutoff date for registration discounts for 2009’s most significant gathering of the hydroelectric industry, the Waterpower XVI conference and exhibition, July 27-30 in Spokane, Wash.

By registering by June 30, delegates will save $150 off the standard registration fee of $785. More than 1,400 delegates from 40 countries met for the previous Waterpower conference, in 2007 at Chattanooga, Tenn.

The Spokane Convention Center and the Doubletree Spokane City Center in Spokane, Wash., provide the venue to explore and share new ideas and technology. The event is at the heart of hydropower, just minutes from host Avista Corp.’s downtown generating stations in the hydro-rich Pacific Northwest.

The opening plenary session July 28 features two academics and an energy journalist in a panel discussion on “The Global Energy Future.” Participating are: Thomas W. O’Donnell, Ph.D. and visiting fellow at the Department of Graduate Economics of the New School for Social Research in New York City; Michael Toman, adjunct faculty member of the Nitze School of International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; and Peter Kemp, editorial director in London for New York-based energy publisher Energy Intelligence.

The conference program includes technical paper presentations, briefings sessions, roundtables, and symposia on technical and policy issues. Waterpower also once again offers its Hydro Training Institute, a course in “Hydro Basics” to provide an overview of hydropower to employees who are new to hydro.

The accompanying exhibition focuses on practical and easy access to leading product and service providers. More than 250 exhibitors already have signed up for the event.

A series of pre- and post-conference technical tours highlight the vast hydropower resources of the Pacific Northwest. (HydroWorld 6/9/09) On July 27, tour registrants will visit the giant 6,809-MW Grand Coulee Dam, operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Host utility Avista Corp. is opening the doors of its hydro projects for tours both before and after the conference: July 28 at the 71-MW Long Lake hydroelectric development, and Aug. 1 at the 10-MW Upper Falls and 14.8-MW Monroe Street plants, just minutes from the convention center.

On July 31, touring delegates will visit the 1,050-MW Boundary and 72-MW Box Canyon projects on Washington’s Pend Oreille River, courtesy of Seattle City Light and Pend Oreille Public Utility District.

Hydro Review magazine is the flagship media sponsor of Waterpower XVI. Event owner and organizer PennWell Corporation has launched a comprehensive Internet site for the conference. For information or to register, see the website, www.waterpowerconference.com.