Hydropower Improvement Act of 2011

Hydropower Improvement Act of 2011 - Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should increase substantially the capacity and generation of clean, renewable hydropower which will improve the environmental quality of resources and support local job creation and economic investment across the United States.

Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish: (1) a grants program for increased hydropower production; and (2) a plan for research, development, and demonstration to increase hydropower capacity, including technical assistance to certain applicants and licensees to perform environmental studies, or comply with applicable environmental requirements.

Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to: (1) investigate the feasibility of the issuance of a license for certain hydropower development during the two-year period beginning on the date of commencement of the prefiling licensing process; and (2) hold workshops and develop hydropower pilot projects.

Directs FERC to enter into a memorandum of understanding with relevant federal agencies with conditioning authority in order to: (1) establish a coordinated approach to any environmental impact statement or similar analysis relating to the consideration of conduit hydropower projects, and (2) develop an expedited approval process for such projects.

Directs the Commissioner of Reclamation and FERC to conduct public workshops on pilot conduit hydropower projects.

Directs FERC to conduct regional public workshops to: (1) reduce barriers for small hydroelectric power projects, (2) aggregate appropriate small hydroelectric power projects for consideration in a consolidated license or exemption, and (3) determine whether the rated capacity for small hydroelectric power projects established by FERC should be increased from five electrical megawatts.

Directs the Commissioner to study barriers to non-federal hydropower development at Bureau of Reclamation projects.

Directs the Secretary to study: (1) the potential quantity of hydropower that may be obtained from conduits in the United States; and (2) federal and nonfederal land that is well-suited for pumped storage sites and is located near existing or potential sites of intermittent renewable resource development, such as wind farms.

Directs the President to report to certain congressional committees on actions taken by DOE, the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement the memorandum of understanding on hydropower entered into on March 24, 2010.