West Coast Power Producers to Spend $800 Million on Hydroelectric Plant Upgrades

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Info Resources; Houston, Texas). Hydroelectric power generation is a vital source of electricity in the U.S and worldwide. As many of these facilities are approaching the end of design life (usually 50 years), modernization and upgrades are needed to continue operation.

A $150 million turbine replacement has been ongoing at Public Utility District of Grant County’s (P.U.D.) (Ephrata, Washington) Wanapum Dam Hydro Station (Beverly, Washington) since the summer of 2004. All ten 98-megawatt Francis turbines will be replaced by 2012, to a more advanced and efficient design, in order to achieve a higher survival rate of young fish passing through the turbines. Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation (York, Pennsylvania) was selected as the contractor for the project. The P.U.D is also studying another $150 million generator upgrade at the plant. It has not yet been decided if the ten General Electric generators should be repaired or replaced. The 2008 project is still being evaluated.

Replacing existing equipment or upgrades with new and improved design can contribute significantly to an improvement in power production efficiency. Such as the $360 million rehabilitation project at P.U.D’s Rock Island Hydro Power Station (Rock Island, Washington). Commercialized on the Columbia River in 1931, the plant generates 624 megawatts. Consisting of eighteen units, units #5 through #10 will be upgraded by having all governors replaced, along with draft tubes, wicket gates, modifications to rotors and liners plus supporting equipment. Upgrades on unit #10 will kick off this fall with work lasting three months. This will be followed by unit #9 and so on. VA Tech Hydro (Charlotte, North Carolina) will be providing engineering and construction services.

Wrapping up this spring is a $12 million upgrade that started last October on unit #1 at the P.U.D No.1 of Douglas County’s (East Wanachee, Washington) Wells Hydro Power Station (Pateros, Washington). The 840 megawatt hydro station consists of ten 75-megawatt Allis-Chalmers turbine/generator sets. Unit #4 is scheduled to be upgraded this fall by having the generator rewound and the bushings and bearings will be replaced with new design. Project completion is expected early 2007. Unit #7 is scheduled to follow next fall, and eventually all ten units will be upgraded.

PacifiCorp (Portland, Oregon) will be spending millions in the next five years for major improvements at its hydro plants, such as the 270-megawatt Swift Hydro Power Station #1 (Cougar, Washington), and the 154-megawatt Yale Hydro Power Station (Amboy, Washington).

An estimated $50 million rebuild will be invested at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Portland, Oregon) Lookout Point Hydro Power Station (Lowell, Oregon). The rebuilding involves replacing all runners, penstocks, blades plus auxiliary equipment on three 40-megawatt General Electric turbine/generator sets. Unit #1 is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2008, ending with Unit #3 in mid-2009.

Hetch Hetchy Water Power (Moccasin, California) will also get involved by upgrading units #1 and #2 at its three-unit Robert C Kirkwood Hydro Station (Groveland, California). The National Electric Coil, Incorporated (Columbus, Ohio) received the contract for the $20 million project that is scheduled to start this summer on the 39-megawatt unit #1 General Electric turbine/generator set, followed by the same capacity unit #2 in March 2007. Unit #3 will not be upgraded.

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