Turbine Upgrades at Grand Coulee Dam Completed

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation/Department of the Interior-Pacific Northwest Regional Office (Boise, Idaho) has completed turbine runner upgrades on units G-1 through G-18 of the Francis turbine generators in the Left and Right powerhouses of the Grand Coulee Dam. The project commenced construction in July 1999 and was completed this month.

The Left Powerhouse contains nine turbine/generators, each rated at 125 megawatts (MW). The Right Powerhouse contains nine turbine/generators, each rated at 125 MW. The cost of the project was about $100 million. Efficiency was increased more than 3.5%, more than was expected.

The Grand Coulee Dam is the largest hydroelectric generation facility in North America. The Right and Left powerhouses were constructed between 1933 and 1942 and originally generated 1,974 MW. A third powerhouse was completed in 1974, and pumped-storage plant was completed in 1973, making a total generation of 6,809 MW for all four powerhouses.

Grand Coulee impounds a reservoir, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, named for the president who authorized construction of the dam.

Andritz Hydro (Charlotte, North Carolina) and GE Hydro (Lachine, Quebec) performed work on the project, the scope of which consisted of the installation of new turbine runners, new wicket gates, the refurbishment of associated equipment and re-installation of the turbines.

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