Phoenix, AZ – The National Hydropower Association (NHA) is proud to announce Nicholas Brunt of Brookfield Renewable N.A. as the recipient of the third annual Rising Star Award. This annual honor celebrates emerging leaders in the water power industry who demonstrate outstanding promise and are making meaningful contributions to the sector’s advancement.
Nicholas Brunt (center) receives the award from NHA President and CEO, Malcolm Woolf, (left) and FLOW Program Manager, Kelly Rogers (right).
The Rising Star Award highlights individuals who demonstrate exemplary leadership, creativity, and innovation while contributing to the growth of the water power industry. Recipients are selected based on achievements that reflect a forward-thinking approach in their professional development and in their industry contributions. Nicholas received the award at NHA’s Clean Currents conference and trade show – the largest gathering of the U.S. water power industry – which was held this year in Phoenix, Arizona.
The 2026 Rising Star Award Winner – Nicholas Brunt, a Senior Analyst in Generation & Optimization – was recognized for his leadership, creativity and contributions to hydropower generation optimization. His impact is reflected in the following areas:
- Decisive Leadership: When Brookfield Renewable N.A. reorganized ahead of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) Market Renewal Program — Ontario’s biggest energy market overhaul in decades — Nicholas formed and chaired a working group spanning generation planning, IT, and energy marketing. His preparation allowed Brookfield Renewable N.A. to safely and competitively bid nearly 900 MW of hydropower generation into the new market on day one, during the height of spring freshet.
- Creative Problem-Solving: Recognizing the industry’s challenge in communicating hydropower’s value alongside wind and solar, Nicholas built a Portfolio Analysis Tool (PAT), which models how hydropower, wind, solar, and battery storage can interact on an hourly basis. The tool has helped Brookfield Renewable N.A. demonstrate reservoir hydropower’s role as a firming resource for intermittent renewables.
- Vision for Growth: From advancing optimization in generation planning — which helped drive revenue increases across multiple river systems — to leading a Loading & Dispatch optimization initiative now delivering generation gains across legacy hydro assets, Nicholas has focused his career on maximizing value from existing infrastructure. He envisions expanding this optimization mindset industry-wide while advancing long-term hydrological modeling to strengthen confidence in hydropower’s reliability amid climate uncertainty.
“Nicholas represents the kind of collaborative leadership and innovative problem solving our industry needs as it navigates a rapidly changing energy market,” said NHA President and CEO, Malcolm Woolf. “Whether it was rallying a cross-functional team ahead of Ontario’s market overhaul or building new tools to help hydropower compete in a changing energy mix, Nicholas led the way. That combination of leadership and innovation is exactly what the Rising Star Award was created to celebrate. I’m honored to recognize Nicholas and look forward to seeing his future contributions in our industry.”
The Rising Star Award is presented annually to encourage and elevate professionals who exemplify leadership, innovation and commitment to growth in the water power industry. Through this initiative, NHA aims to recognize and support the promising talent that will drive the industry’s future success.
