The Henwood Award is the highest individual honor one can receive in U.S. water power. 

Created in 1990 by the National Hydropower Association (NHA) in remembrance of Dr. Kenneth Henwood – a ‘larger than life’ industry champion – the award is presented annually to a water power professional who has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the technology and its broad community of employees and advocates. As such, this award is often presented to a stalwart who is wrapping up a long and storied career. 

And then there’s Herbie Johnson… 

From Left to Right: John Ragonese, Herbie Johnson (Colliers Engineering and Design), Malcolm Woolf (National Hydropower Association) (Photo Credit – NHA)

BACKGROUND

Herbie, the 2025 Henwood Award recipient, boasts decades of experience in the industry. But don’t expect him to slow down or bow out any time soon.  

This personable, outgoing, and outspoken Alabama native is currently a Business Development Manager at Colliers Engineering & Design, where he provides expertise to clients regarding hydropower project development, regulatory strategy, and investment/tax incentives. 

Before that, he served as General Manager of Hydropower Generation at Southern Company, where he led a fleet of 30 hydropower plants producing 2,900 megawatts of clean energy. Later, as Technology Manager for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office, he directed national R&D programs in hydropower modernization, cybersecurity, and maintenance.  

He’s a graduate of Auburn University and a U.S. Air Force veteran. Herbie credits both experiences with creating a solid foundation to begin his career with a focus on problem solving and service.  

His talent and passion for engineering may also be in his genes – thanks to his machinist grandfather who he fittingly calls “an engineer without a degree,” who was renowned for his skills.  

Despite this strong record, Herbie says that learning he received the Henwood Award was still a genuine surprise. 

“I was totally caught off guard,” he said in a recent conversation. “I’ve been [in hydropower] as an owner and had a chance to work for two years at DOE and see that side of the business. And now, in the private design engineering sector, which is a totally different level of understanding, I thought, ‘hey, this is a really good circle of life, and if I keep making impacts, maybe I’ll have a chance to get [the award] one day.”

As it turned out, the panel of industry peers who selected Herbie valued his future goals just as much as his past achievements, making him a natural choice for the Henwood Award. 

From Left to Right: Claire Johnson (daughter), Hannah Johnson (wife), Herbie Johnson, Avery Montgomery (daughter), Kyle Montgomery (son in law) (Photo Credit – NHA)

LOOKING AHEAD

Never one to rest on his laurels, Herbie is approaching this stage of his career with a zeal and a sense of urgency often reserved for early career professionals; and it’s precisely this group that’s driving his focus and his advocacy within the industry.  

In his acceptance speech at Clean Currents in Pittsburgh last October, Herbie urged the audience to place a larger focus on workforce development, warning that a failure to invest in young talent could cause the industry to fall behind. 

“I see that as probably job number one — the highest priority and the biggest risk,” Herbie says. This became even more apparent to him after lawmakers in Washington enacted strong hydropower incentives in legislation like the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ leading to a flurry of business activity. 

“I just saw everything blow up workwise, and where I thought I had additional staff to start growing in new other areas and [serve] a new customer base, almost overnight, we were fully utilized. We’ve got to find new talent. We’ve got to start balancing the bench. We’ve been relying on the more seasoned employees who are now in their mid-sixties to do the heavy lifting and not pass that knowledge along. So, I think we have this gap, and we’ve got to solve that — and we’ve got to do that really, really quickly.” 

Beyond these economic benefits, Herbie also sees workforce investment as a smart way to create more mentorship in the industry. He appreciates his ability to mentor junior colleagues in his current role, and he still values his own water power colleagues — like Colliers Engineering & Design’s national Hydropower Market Lead, Don Nims — who provide him guidance, counsel and friendship.  

“Even at this stage, I need a mentor,” Herbie says.  

He is strongly supportive of the recent strategic alignment between the National Hydropower Association and the education and workforce-focused Hydropower Foundation to help build these connections. Herbie urges more states to adopt mentor-mentee programs with public dollars to help recruit and foster the next generation of energy workers.  

Herbie also sees NHA, which has been a part of his professional life for decades, as a catalyst to further unite a U.S. water power industry that often is often divided by geography.  

 “I want to see us to really bring all of these regional needs together under NHA so we can address them more strongly.  And I think that’s happened. I feel that momentum. I see it in a lot of different ways. We just need to continue delivering.” 

Throughout his career there has been one person who has always been there – his wife of 30 years, Hannah. Together, they moved nine times for various jobs while raising two daughters, one of whom was recently married in a hometown ceremony. As they approach a new chapter as empty nesters, Herbie and his wife look forward to more travel and adventure to accompany his work at Colliers Engineering & Design.  

Herbie clearly has an eye toward the future, but he’s also happy to reflect on what he’s achieved and experienced so far in his water power career. 

“I tell everybody when I look back, I’ve worked in some of the most beautiful places in the world, and I’ve had the chance to visit these sites and earn a living by preserving these assets and keeping them an integral part of the community. I just feel like I got really lucky in life. And it was just random.”