Ellenson Hydro
Sean Ellenson
Owner
Most hydropower projects don't need a 20-person team. They need one engineer who knows the work cold and shows up like a member of your team.
Sean Ellenson founded Ellenson Hydro after 13 years in hydropower consulting to offer owners and developers a senior technical advisor whose only agenda is getting the answer right.
Every project has a governing constraint, the one factor that shapes every other decision downstream. Finding it early, before it surfaces as a change order or a missed licensing condition, is where senior judgment actually pays off. Sean has learned to find it across conventional hydro, pumped storage, rehabilitation, and relicensing work.
Ellenson Hydro works with small utilities, independent developers, and consulting firms that need senior hydropower expertise without the overhead of a large firm. The focus is reconnaissance and feasibility studies, powerhouse rehabilitation, owner's engineering, FERC licensing and relicensing support, and independent technical review.
Reconnaissance studies, site evaluation, operations modeling, and alternatives analysis for new hydro and pumped storage development. Engineering support for FERC licensing, relicensing, and study programs.
12.5 MW Vertical Pelton Turbine Procurement and Balance-of-Plant Design — Southeast Alaska
2026
250 kW Greenfield Hydroelectric Project, CFRD Dam and 9,000 ft Penstock — Remote Alaska
2026
400 MW Pumped Storage Feasibility and Licensing Support — Sierra Nevada, CA
2025
Statewide Hydroelectric Site Screening, 158 Sites to 11-Project Shortlist — Alaska
2025
Powerhouse and Penstock Uprate Study, Runner and Generator Procurement — Hawaii
2025
32 MW Pumped Storage Integration, Pump Station, and Dual Powerhouse Design — Hawaii
2024
DOE Water Power Technologies Office Independent Technical Review — National
2022
Spillway Gate Automation, Intake Improvements, and Powerhouse Upgrades — Central California
2019