Flexibility Solutions and Innovations for Sustainable Hydropower

Dear Colleagues,

The clean energy transition is driving the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources, with solar and wind reshaping power system operations and creating an unprecedented demand for flexibility. Hydropower, as the largest dispatchable renewable source, plays a central role in providing grid stability and ancillary services, while also supporting multifunctional benefits such as water supply, irrigation, drought mitigation, and flood control. However, increasing variability, off-design operations, and emerging climatic risks pose operational and maintenance challenges, highlighting the need for innovative strategies and digital solutions to unlock its full sustainability and flexibility potential. This Special Issue will explore digital solutions, innovative technologies, and operational strategies that can unlock the sustainability and flexibility potential of hydropower.

We invite contributions that address technical, economic, environmental, and social dimensions of this transition, including topics such as the following:

• Digitalization for predictive maintenance, efficiency improvement, and safer operation;
• Hybridization of hydropower with other renewable energy sources;
• Enhancing flexibility and ancillary services provision;
• Environmental and social aspects of hydropower operation under changing climatic conditions;
• Policy and market frameworks for sustainable and flexible hydropower.

By bringing together diverse perspectives, the Special Issue aims to highlight how hydropower can continue to play a pivotal role in the renewable energy future, while ensuring resilience, sustainability, and alignment with the broader goals of the green and digital transitions.

Dr. Vassiliki T. Kontargyri
Prof. Dr. Theodoros I. Maris
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.