The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a US$19 million contract to American Hydro to replace and update two units at the 314-MW John W. Keys III Pump Generating Plant.
This facility, on the Columbia River in Washington, is part of the 6,809-MW Grand Coulee Dam Power Complex that provides flood control, irrigation, hydropower production, recreation, stream flows, and fish and wildlife benefits.
The work on Units 5 and 6 will take place over the next two years while accommodating for irrigation demand, according to a press release. It is scheduled to be finished by January 2020.
This overhaul work continues a 20-year modernization effort at the plant. “This effort is pivotal to the infrastructure modernization at the Keys Plant. The pump units will provide greater efficiency, flexibility and capacity in hydropower production and water delivery,” said Reclamation Commissioner Estevan Lopez.
The project is funded through Bonneville Power Administration, South Columbia Basin Irrigation District, Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District, East Columbia Basin Irrigation District and Congressional appropriations.
American Hydro supplies and installs large equipment for the hydroelectric and water distribution industries, specializing in design, manufacture, upgrades and servicing of high-performance hydro turbines and pumps.
Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the U.S., with operations and facilities in the 17 western states.
