Posted on 08/24/2020 2:29:10 PM PDT by ransomnote
Since the beginning of this Administration, President Trump has demonstrated his commitment to modernizing our Nation’s infrastructure. Under his leadership, the Trump Administration has been implementing a One Federal Decision policy to improve coordination between Federal agencies on environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects, including water projects.
The President has specifically directed Federal agencies to work together to expedite ongoing environmental reviews in the western United States in order to meet the demands of water users, including to provide reliable water supplies for farms, families, businesses, and fish and wildlife; reduce flood risks; and generate dependable hydropower. He has also directed agencies to work together to encourage innovation, research, and the development of technology that improves water management.
Today, on National Hydropower Day, officials of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are coming together at the iconic Hoover Dam to advance hydropower. These officials are signing a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to identify and collaborate on hydropower technology research, development, and demonstration projects. The agencies will prepare an action plan that will consider the value of hydropower, workforce recruitment and training, water supply reliability, and optimizing environmental outcomes.
Hydropower is not only one of the oldest sources of energy—powering our Nation for more than 100 years—but it provides clean, renewable, reliable, and affordable energy for more than 30 million American homes. Beyond powering our homes, hydropower plants can also generate power immediately to our Nation’s energy grids, helping balance the grids and providing essential back-up power during electricity outages or disruptions.
Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit the Folsom Dam and Reservoir in central California with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers. I was able to see firsthand how critical the dam is for the surrounding community, providing necessary flood reduction as well as reliable power for the project and the region.
The development of modern, resilient infrastructure, including hydropower facilities, is a priority for this Administration. Rising 726 feet above the Colorado River, the Hoover Dam was the largest dam of its time and continues to generate clean and reliable energy for 1.3 million people in Nevada, Arizona, and California. The Hoover Dam was built in less than 5 years, which is less time than we currently spend completing an average environmental review for a major water infrastructure project.
To support the development of needed water projects and other infrastructure, this Administration has modernized and streamlined outdated regulations while ensuring environmental protection, and improved coordination between Federal agencies. Today’s Memorandum of Understanding will further such coordination and help ensure our Nation continues to advance the use of hydropower that will benefit our economy, environment, and communities now and in the coming decades.
Hydro power is the most cheap, then comes coal and NG and down the line.
The most expensive is known to all on here.
BTW, if they were to go through all the old dam systems in the USA and upgraded the turbines, they’d get a pretty big improvement in output compared to those old turbines.
seems to me I saw some federal work 2-5 years ago about a federal program whose purpose was to update the turbines. The new turbines are much more efficient than the old ones and deliver electricity at cheaper prices—or so I have read.
The work to improve plant efficiency began in 1999, after some units at the plant had been operating for more than 60 years. The goal of this work is to restore machinery to a more efficient operating condition. On each unit overhauled, Reclamation personnel determined they could improve efficiency by 3 to 4 percent. This would add about 8,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year per unit, with a value of $290,000 per unit.
Reclamation began the capacity improvement work in 2005 with installation of new wicket gates in Unit A1. This increased unit capacity by 7 MW. After the completion of this unit showed quantifiable benefits, Hoover power customers approved the funding for purchase and installation of new stainless steel wicket gates in seven additional units. Work on five of these units is complete, and two more will be completed during the next two years.
The total increase in generating capacity achieved at Hoover since 2005 is 84 MW, and about 19 additional megawatts are scheduled in the next three years. As such, this project has direct measureable benefits to electric customers whenever the water level in Lake Mead is 1,180 feet or lower. For example, using a conservative wholesale market price for capacity of $2,700 per MW-month (estimating 720 hours in a month), the value of 84 MW of capacity at Hoover is $2.7 million per year.
Another strategic goal for Reclamation at the Hoover project is to improve unit operating efficiency. This work will allow Reclamation to continue to produce as much energy as possible for a given flow of water. Two of the major efforts Reclamation has undertaken to improve efficiency are overhauling the turbines and decreasing water leakage.
https://www.hydroreview.com/2009/09/01/equipment-turbine/#gref
The study estimated a 50% chance that levels at Lake Mead, already showing a deficit, could drop too low for power production. Additionally, the Scripps researchers predicted that there is a 50% chance that by 2021, Lake Mead could run dry if water demand is not curbed and climate changes continue as expected.
To combat dropping water levels, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees power production at the dam, recently awarded Austrian company Andritz Hydro Corp. a $3.4-million contract for the design and manufacture of a new “wide-head” turbine runner for generating unit N-8 at Hoover Dam. The “turbine runner” is the water wheel portion of the generating unit that drives the generator, and “N-8” is the designation for the number 8 unit in the Nevada wing of the power plant.
The federal agency—the largest wholesale water supplier and the second-largest producer of hydroelectric power in the U.S.—recognizes that at very low lake levels, operation of existing turbines becomes inefficient. The existing N-8 turbine, for example, is designed to operate when Lake Mead is as low as 1,050 feet mean above sea level (msl). Current Lake Mead levels stand at 1,099 feet msl—about 120 feet below the full operating level.
There are 17 commercial generators at the Hoover Dam power plant—nine in the Arizona wing and eight in the Nevada wing. The new runner is expected to be delivered to the dam in February 2012 for installation by the bureau. If it performs as anticipated, the bureau said it could ask for more runners to outfit units N-6, A-1, and N-5. These turbines could altogether cost $11.56 million. If ordered, they would arrive at the dam in November 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively, it said.
https://www.powermag.com/hoover-dam-contracts-for-low-water-hydroelectric-turbine/
But, but, but what about the fish getting ground to pieces in those giant hydro-blades?
Is it worth that huge ecological disaster just to save our civilization?
They don’t seem to mind windmills turning birds into puree.
I don't understand that low level with all the rain CA had this past winter, not to mention the high snowfall in the Sierras. I know, I should read your URL. I actually live in CA. and experienced so much rain that I hadn't seen so much rainfall in decades.
Lake mead. Colorado river.
Over 75%, or so, of the power produced at Hoover goes to California.
Although CA had a big hand in the building of the project, they have abused the agreements so that they should be cut off from much of the power generated there.
If water rights were divided up by miles of shoreline, CA would be at the bottom of the pile.
The Colorado water shed is mostly from Colorado-mostly the west range.
Has nothing to do with the Sierras.
Instead, more services should be built to contain the water instead of sending it into the sea. The jerks in Sacramento hasn’t figured this out yet.
Yessss!
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