Agriculture Department awards rural energy funds to four projects
The Department of Agriculture has awarded more than $8 million to four hydro projects in Connecticut, Oregon, Utah and Vermont under the Rural Energy for America Program.
A .2 million loan went to EBD Hydro LLC, which is developing the 5-MW 45-Mile project on the North Unit Irrigation District’s main canal in Jefferson County, Ore. EBD also has received a .2 million loan from the Oregon Energy Department’s State Energy Loan Program for the estimated $15 million project.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued EBD a conduit exemption from licensing for 45-Mile in 2010. The project includes a proposed intake structure; 2,700-foot-long, 96-inch-diameter penstock; and single-unit powerhouse. It is expected to generate 18.126 GWh annually using irrigation water diverted from the Deschutes and Crooked rivers.
Agriculture awarded a $500,000 grant to BMB Enterprises Inc. to help complete the 650-kW Six-Mile Creek project in Sanpete County, Utah. The project includes a diversion structure, powerhouse containing four turbine-generators and transmission lines. The grant is expected to be used to build transmission lines to Manti, Utah.
FERC issued an order to BMB in January 2012 granting an extension of time to October 2013 to complete Six-Mile Creek. Although BMB received a license for the project in 1987, it has been delayed due to interconnection agreements, property acquisition problems, permitting and rights of way.
Putnam Green Power LLC received a $275,000 grant for its proposed 875-kW Cargill Falls project on Quinebaug River in Putnam, Conn.
FERC received an application from Putnam in February 2011 for a maximum 5-MW exemption for Cargill Falls, which includes two existing concrete gravity dams, a 1.5-acre upper reservoir, and two powerhouses containing refurbished 530-kW and 345-kW turbine-generators. The federal grant is to finance refurbishment of the two turbines. When completed, the project is to generate 2.523 GWh annually.
Finally, Agriculture awarded a $49,325 grant to Green Mountain Environmental Consulting Inc. for the 65-kW Candelora project on Roaring Branch Brook in Bennington, Vt. In addition, the Candelora project has been accepted for processing by Vermont’s Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development program, which offers above-market rates to renewable energy projects.
Green Mountain has filed an initial consultation document indicating it plans to seek a FERC exemption from licensing for Candelora, which would use existing Bennington Water Supply facilities, including a concrete dam and 4,400-foot-long penstock to a new powerhouse containing one turbine-generator.
Fellowship Program continuing in 2012 with new partners
The Hydro Research Foundation anticipates funding 10 students during its 2012 Fellowship Program, with help from three new industry partners.
For the past two years, the foundation has been working with a $3 million, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind and Water Power Technology Program. This year, the foundation has partnerships with Weir American Hydro, Knight Piesold and Co. and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
HRF says the partnerships will help the program “move toward a sustainable program and offer internships, research facilities, access to knowledge, and career placement opportunities for students.”
In past years, fellowships have been worth $55,000 to $141,000 over a one- to three-year period of study and include a tuition allowance, living stipend, professional honorarium and participation in the annual Hydro Fellows Roundtables.
The foundation named nine fellows in 2010 and 14 fellows in 2011.
Applications for the 2012 program are due March 1. Announcements of fellows selected will be made on April 4. For more information, visit www.hydrofoundation.org or e-mail [email protected].
FERC takes applications for projects, approves exemptions
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission received applications in January 2012 for three hydro projects totaling 7.3 MW and approved conduit exemptions for two Oregon projects totaling 135 kW.
The Energy Infrastructure Update for January 2012, compiled by FERC’s Office of Energy Projects, showed the agency received hydro license applications for two projects.
Shelbyville Hydro LLC, a subsidiary of Symbiotics LLC, applied to license the 6.8-MW Lake Shelbyville Dam project on Illinois’ Kaskaskia River at a dam operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Western Technical College also filed a license application, for the 205-kW Angelo Dam project, to be built on Wisconsin’s LaCrosse River at a dam owned by Monroe County, Wis.
The commission also received an application from Carbon Zero LLC for a 5-MW (maximum) exemption from licensing for the proposed 349-kW Vermont Tissue Mill project to be built at the Vermont Tissue Mill Dam on the Walloomsac River in Bennington, Vt. FERC also received an application for a capacity amendment to an existing project totaling 5.075 MW.
FERC issued two conduit exemptions:
– Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 85-kW Oak Springs hydroelectric project at Oak Springs Fish Hatchery, Wasco County, Ore.; and
– City of Gresham, Ore., 50-kW Wastewater Treatment Plant Outfall, Multnomah County, Ore.
The October update may be obtained at www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/11-14-11-energy-infrastructure.pdf.
Hydro among renewables that would benefit from PTC extension
Introduction of the American Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Extension Act (H.R. 3307) by U.S. Representatives Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) would stretch current production tax incentives for all renewable energy forms through 2016.
Created as the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the legislation has frequently been extended in an effort to prevent renewable energy projects and research from slumping.
Historically, financial lenders have been hesitant in providing capital in the months leading up to the PTC’s expiration, sometimes preventing projects from coming online.
The current incentive – established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 – will expire in 2013 for hydro power.
Although the bill does not increase the amount of incentive that will be received by the hydropower sector – hydro will maintain its 1.1 cents/kWh PTC, while other renewables will stay at 2.2 cents/kWh – H.R. 3307 is good for the future of the industry, says National Hydropower Association Executive Director Linda Church Ciocci. “Extending hydropower tax incentives provides developers financial certainty and will bring additional clean, affordable and reliable hydroelectric power to more American families,” she says. “A long-term PTC extension sends a market signal supporting project development, in turn leveraging significant private investment.”
Permit sought for 550-MW project on Wyoming-Colorado pipeline
Wyco Power and Water Inc. has filed for a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission preliminary permit to study developing two pumped-storage plants and five conventional hydro plants totaling 550 MW on a proposed 501-mile pipeline to carry water from southeastern Wyoming to Colorado.
Wyco’s Aaron Million proposes the Regional Watershed Supply project, a buried water supply pipeline to carry water from two points in Wyoming, the Green River and the reservoir of the Bureau of Reclamation’s 151.95-MW Flaming Gorge project on the Green River in Utah and Wyoming. The water would be delivered across the Continental Divide to Colorado’s Front Range at storage facilities near Pueblo, Colo.
FERC issued a notice Oct. 18, 2011, that it accepted Wyco’s preliminary permit application for filing. A preliminary permit, if granted, reserves the site while the applicant studies feasibility of the project for hydropower licensing.
FERC noted that it would only have jurisdiction over the hydro project, not the other major components of the giant project. It said project construction might require permits from other federal agencies. It was reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had been reviewing the plan but referred Wyco to FERC when it learned of the hydropower component.
Hydroelectric developments proposed include the 240-MW Lake Hattie Pumped-Storage development, utilizing a new upper reservoir to be built on Sheep Mountain and the existing Lake Hattie as lower reservoir. It also would include the 240-MW Wild Horse Canyon Pumped-Storage development with new upper and lower reservoirs. The project also would have five 14-MW conventional hydro plants built on the pipeline.
For water distribution purposes, the project would have four new reservoirs: 185,000-acre-foot Cactus Hill near Fort Collins; 25,000-acre-foot T-Cross in El Paso County, Colo.; a reservoir along the western portion of the pipeline to manage Green River withdrawals; and a terminus reservoir near Pueblo.
Ingram promoted, staff added to PennWell’s hydro group
Elizabeth Ingram has been promoted to senior editor of the hydro group for Penn Well, while Michael Harris and Chris Greer have joined the group as online editor and associate editor, respectively.
Ingram will be responsible for guiding editorial content for Hydro Review magazine, the HydroWorld.com website and the HydroVision International conference. She also will assist with editorial content development for HRW-Hydro Review Worldwide. Previously, Ingram was associate editor with the hydro group. Before joining PennWell, she was managing editor of Veterinary Economics magazine and chief editor of EXPO magazine.
Harris will write news stories and other content for the HydroWorld.com website and compile the group’s two weekly enewsletters, HydroWorld Weekly and HydroWorld Weekly Premium Content. Previously, he worked in PennWell’s digital media production department. Before joining PennWell, Harris was a marketing coordinator for a dental service company. He spent four years as sports editor for the college newspaper while at Oklahoma State University.
Greer will develop editorial content for Hydro Review and HRW-Hydro Review Worldwide magazines, as well as the HydroVision International conference. He has more than 20 years of experience in web and print publishing. Greer has worked with ESPN, the NCAA and Hasbro, as well as the universities of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Nebraska. He also has worked on such events as the Xtreme Bulls Tour, ProRodeo Championship Series, Oklahoma Music Trade Show, and Collegiate Sports Publishers Convention.
Russell Ray, former senior associate editor for the hydro group, is now managing editor of Power Engineering magazine, also published by PennWell.
Reclamation EA endorses additional unit for Black Canyon
The Bureau of Reclamation has issued a final environmental assessment endorsing addition of a third turbine-generator unit at 10-MW Black Canyon Diversion Dam, which would at least double the capacity of the Idaho project.
Reclamation said the EA’s preferred alternative is addition of a unit of 10 to 12.5 MW to the Payette River project, the first unit to be added to the Federal Columbia River Power System in more than 30 years. The EA included a Finding of No Significant Impact for the proposal.
Black Canyon Diversion Dam is a 183-foot-tall concrete gravity dam with an ogee overflow spillway. Built in 1924, the dam diverts irrigation water to Reclamation’s Payette Division through Black Canyon Canal. The two-unit powerhouse supplies electricity to the Southern Idaho Federal Power System.
In addition to increasing project capacity, the new unitwould be designed to generate power during high flow periods as water passes through the turbines rather than over the spillway.
Reclamation said a contract could be issued in late 2012 for the estimated $40 million construction project. The work, funded by Bonneville Power Administration, is expected to start in 2013 and be completed in about two years.
The final EA may be obtained at www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/ea/idaho/blackcanyon/index.html.
Corps awards contracts for work at eight projects
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded contracts for work at the 2,457.3-MW Chief Joseph Dam, 2,160-MW John Day, 1,076.7-MW Bonneville project, 810-MW Lower Monumental, 517.8-MW Garrison, 130-MW Barkley, 58-MW Clarence Cannon and 42.6-MW Albeni Falls projects.
The Corps awarded a $1.5 million contract to Burke Electric LLC to replace a substation at Chief Joseph Dam, on the Columbia River near Bridgeport, Wash. Burke, of Bellevue, Wash., is to remove an SQ0 and CQ03 480-volt substation and furnish, install and test a new CQ03.1 and CQ03.2 480-volt substation. The work includes conduit, cable tray, wiring, disconnects, transformers, switchboards, enclosures, annunciator panel, and core drilling for conduit access.
In addition, the Corps’ Portland District awarded a $984,900 contract to Oregon Iron Works Inc. to supply temporary spillway weir stoplogs at 2,160-MW John Day Dam, on the Columbia River in Oregon. Oregon Iron Works, of Clackamas, Ore., is to supply seven newly fabricated stoplogs that are critical for working on spillway tainter gates.
Third, the Corps named Knight Construction & Supply Inc. to rehabilitate an intake gantry crane at the 558-MW Second Powerhouse of the Bonneville project, on the Columbia River in Oregon. Knight, of Deer Park, Wash., received a contract valued at $4.49 million for the intake gantry crane rehabilitation. Work is to include the main and auxiliary hoist systems, with replacement of all electrical and mechanical equipment including motors and controls. A new operator cab and a new electrical equipment enclosure are to be installed.
At Lower Monumental, the Corps awarded a $6.5 million contract to Advanced American Construction Inc. of Portland, Ore., for fishway outfall modifications. The Corps’ Walla Walla District awarded a contract to improve survival of bypassed fish returned to the river at Lower Monumental, on the Snake River in Washington, by relocating the juvenile bypass outfall pipes to a location that would predation opportunity. Advanced American is to connect a pipe to the existing bypass system line and extend it about 2,100 feet downstream and 500 feet into the river.
For Garrison, the Corps has awarded a $23.7 million contract to Koontz Electric Co. Inc. for upgrade of the switchyard of the project, on the Missouri River in Garrison, N.D. Koontz, of Morrilton, Ark., is to rebuild a 230/115-kV switchyard including new transformers, breakers, and disconnect switches on a site adjacent to the Garrison hydropower plant. The work originally was valued at $10 million to $15 million.
And the Corps has awarded an $8.69 million contract to National Electric Coil of Columbus, Ohio, to rewind generator No. 1 at the Barkley project on the Cumberland River in Kentucky. The project is among nine Corps plants on the river that a study found need as much as $470 million in repairs. The Corps awarded the contract to disassemble the generator, inspect and test bearings, replace stator windings and stator core, reinsulate damaged rotor poles, replace air coolers and piping, and reassemble the unit.
The Corps’ St. Louis District awarded an $845,839 contract to Tarlton Corp. for repair and repainting of tainter gates and bulkheads at the Clarence Cannon project in northeast Missouri. Clarence Cannon impounds the Salt River to form Mark Twain Lake. Tarlton, of Saint Louis, Mo., is to sandblast, clean, and paint tainter gates at the main dam and a re-regulation dam and bulkheads at the re-regulation dam. Included is replacement of all seals on the bulkheads.
Finally, the Corps’ Seattle District awarded a $5.49 million contract to Dix Corp. for intake and spillway crane rehabilitation at the Albeni Falls project on the Pend Oreille River in Idaho. Dix, of Spokane, Wash., is to rehabilitate both intake and spillway cranes including new guard rail, access ladders, and gates; new platform, guard rail, and cable reel; new generator set; new main cab; new auxiliary cab for the intake crane; main hoist; trolley drive; and gantry drive.
FERC EIS recommends relicensing 774.3-MW Wells
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff has issued a final environmental impact statement that recommends relicensing the 774.3-MW Wells project on the Columbia River in Washington.
The draft EIS, issued April 6, 2011, also endorsed the relicensing proposal of Douglas County Public Utility District, plus FERC staff modifications, for Wells.
Wells consists of a 1,165-foot-long, 168-foot-wide concrete structure containing 10 generating units; 11 spillways, five of which are modified for juvenile fish bypass; a switchyard; two fish ladders with trap and sorting facilities; a 2,300-foot-long, 40-foot-tall earth and rockfill west embankment; a 1,030-foot-long, 160-foot-tall earth and rockfill east embankment; a fish hatchery; two 41-mile transmission lines; and recreational facilities.
Douglas County PUD is using FERC’s integrated licensing process, which coordinates FERC’s review with that of other agencies and groups. The utility proposed new visitor interpretive displays, refurbishment of fish hatchery facilities, construction of a tent camping facility and expansion of marina and boat launch facilities.
The licensee also proposed continued implementation of the Wells Anadromous Fish Agreement and implementation of management plans for water quality, bull trout, Pacific lamprey, white sturgeon, resident fish, aquatic nuisance species, wildlife and botanical species, avian protection, historic properties and recreation.
FERC staff recommended the staff alternative, which consists of measures in Douglas County PUD’s proposal, some of the mandatory conditions and recommendations by state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations, and some additional staff recommendations.
A revised economic analysis in the document found that continuing to operate the project as originally licensed would produce power at $89.28 per MWh less than the cost of alternative power; Douglas County PUD’s proposal would produce power at $88.80 per MWh less than alternative power; and the preferred staff alternative with mandatory conditions would produce power at $88.84 perMWh less than the cost of alternative power.
The final EIS may be obtained at http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=12800397.
Elgin Equipment closes acquisition of Cook Legacy
Elgin Equipment Group has closed its purchase of Ohio-based Cook Legacy Coating Co., which is now known as Cook Legacy Water & Energy.
The acquisition broadens Elgin’s product line and demonstrates its commitment to provide design and performance excellence to the coal, mining and mineral processing, utility, and oil and gas industries.
Cook Legacy’s core products include Coanda and cylindrical screens, AirBurst systems and Jacquelyn Coating, a screen coating solution that improves screen durability and prevents biofouling.
Cook Legacy designs and assembles water intake screens and systems for the municipal water and power utility end markets. Cook’s operation will be merged into Elgin Equipment Group’s Norris Screen LLC.
Reclamation issues final EA for 1.1-MW C-Drop hydro project
The Bureau of Reclamation has issued a final environmental assessment supporting a federal Lease of Power Privilege to construct the 1.1-MW C-Drop project on an irrigation canal in Oregon.
The Oct. 17, 2011, issuance follows a draft Finding of No Significant Impact in August saying environmental effects of the proposed project are not anticipated to have significant adverse impacts on the human or natural environment.
The assessment clears the way for Reclamation to issue the Lease of Power Privilege to Klamath Irrigation District to build and operate the C-Drop project on C-Canal of the Klamath Project.
A Lease of Power Privilege is a congressionally authorized alternative to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hydropower licensing. It gives a non-federal entity authorization to use Reclamation-owned water or facilities for generation and sale of hydropower.
The C-Drop project would include an intake structure, a forebay, powerhouse and 150-foot transmission line. While the initial anticipated maximum flow of the run-of-canal project is 550 cubic feet per second, a 700-cfs vertical Kaplan turbine is to be installed to accommodate increased flow in the future.
As a result, Reclamation’s assessment endorses a 900-kW project as well as its eventual increase to 1.1 MW. The project initially would generate 2,900 MWh, to increase to 3,600 MWh.
The EA found the project involves no new water diversion or storage and does not modify the timing of water diversions or storage by the Klamath Project in any way. Fish already are screened from the project site by a fish screen upstream on A-Canal. Reclamation also found the project is needed to promote development of clean and renewable energy sources for public utilization.
FERC “sets record straight” on Lake of the Ozarks shoreline plan
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has taken steps to deal with a furor over fears that 4,000 private structures might be removed for encroaching on project lands of the 93-mile-long federally licensed Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.
FERC issued a Nov. 10, 2011, rehearing order, news release, fact sheet of “Frequently Asked Questions,” and table illustrating actions required – or not required – involving structures on lands within the boundaries of Ameren’s 230.75-MW Osage project on the Osage River in central Missouri. The action followed three months of citizen protests and complaints by Missouri’s congressional delegation about a July 26 FERC order approving the first shoreline management plan for the 85-year-old project.
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today provided certainty for citizens at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri by setting the record straight that FERC has not required shoreline homes and structures with valid deeds, permits, and easements to be removed,” the FERC news release says.
“FERC’s prior order on this case, issued July 26, 2011, was misinterpreted to mean that the commission would order all privately owned structures built within the boundaries of the Osage project to be removed,” the commission says. “Ameren is responsible for managing the shoreline, which includes ensuring that structures within the project boundary around the Lake of the Ozarks are built with the proper authorizations.”
FERC declared that nothing in its July order affects any previously issued valid permit authorizing a non-project use of project lands or waters. “For structures without valid deeds, permits, or easements, Ameren must determine whether they interfere with the Osage project,” it says. “If they do, Ameren must take some action, such as redrawing the boundaries of the project, so those structures no longer are sitting on project lands.”
The commission ordered Ameren to follow through with its proposal to revise the project boundary to remove lands not needed to operate the project effectively. FERC said it expects that will remove the majority of the non-conforming or encroaching structures from the project.
Once consultations are completed with encroaching parties, Ameren is to file a plan at FERC for dealing with any remaining encroachments. FERC said, for example, Ameren could find lands elsewhere within, or to be added to, the project boundary that could meet the same purpose as the contested property.
LIHI awards certification to seven hydroelectric projects
The Low Impact Hydropower Institute recently announced that several projects have met the LIHI certification criteria.
The seven projects recently receiving certification are:
– Arrowrock in Clatskanie, Ore. The Arrowrock project, owned by the Clatskanie Peoples Utility District, is certified for five years, effective April 30. Releases from this dam are made by the Bureau of Reclamation for flood control and irrigation. The project is allowed to shape the flows that Reclamation determines to release on a daily basis only.
– Benton Falls in Benton, Maine. The Benton Falls project is owned by Benton Falls Associates LP and is on the lower reaches of the Sebasticock River. The plant’s two turbines have a combined rated capacity of almost 4.5 MW. Certification will last for five years so long as the facility is able to show adherence to LIHI’s fish passage and protection criteria.
– Black River Dam in Springfield, Vt. The Black River Dam project, owned by the Springfield Hydroelectric Company, received a five year certification. The facility was constructed in 1986 and has an installed capacity of 400 kW.
– Gardner Falls in Buckland Mass. The Gardner Falls project, owned by North American Energy Alliance LLC, is certified for five years. The facility is equipped with four turbine-generating units with a total capacity of 3.58 MW.
– Henry M. Jackson in Snohomish County, Wash. The Henry M. Jackson project, located on the Sultan River, is owned by Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County. The facility is home to two 60-kW turbine-generators and will receive an eight-year certification, pending Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing.
– West Dudley near Dudley, Mass. The West Dudley project, on the Quinebaug River and owned by West Dudley LLC, was awarded a five-year certification. The project is comprised of a 31-acre surface with a useable storage capacity of 201 acre-feet, a 55-foot spillway, two sections of dam totaling nearly 200 feet in length, a 60 foot stone and masonry powerhouse, and transmission equipment and electrical facilities.
– Winooski 8 in East Montpelier, Vt. The Wisnooski 8 Project, owned by the Wisnooski Hydroelectric Company, was awarded a five-year certification. The facility was originally built in 1908, but it was reconstructed in 1985 with an installed capacity of 930 kW.
The voluntary LIHI program is designed to help consumers identify environmentally sound, low-impact hydro facilities. The owner can market the project as a certified low-impact facility.
Reclamation awards include trashrake system for Parker
The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded contracts for a trashrack cleaner at 120-MW Parker Dam and spillway concrete apron repair at 50-MW Canyon Ferry.
The agency awarded an $892,059 contract to Inland Potable Services Inc. of Centennial, Colo., to design, manufacture, and install a trashrack cleaner for the forebay inlet of Parker Dam, on the Colorado River, that will remove accumulated quagga mussels and aquatic plants, alleviate low flow velocities, and retrieve collected debris. Parker, which has no trashrakes, includes 12 bays with two columns of trashracks per bay.
Reclamation also awarded a $387,600 contract to Kovilic Construction Co. for spillway concrete apron repair at 50-MW Canyon Ferry Dam in Montana. Kovilic, of Franklin Park, Ill., is to perform saw cutting and concrete removal in the spillway and roadway, reinforce repair areas and replace concrete. The work is located on steep slopes of the spillway above the water level in the stilling basin and on top of the dam.
Panel endorses Alaska park land swap for small hydro project
A Senate committee has endorsed legislation that would authorize a national park land exchange and construction of a 100-kW hydro project in a non-wilderness area of Denali National Park in Alaska.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed November 10, 2011, and sent the full Senate the Kantishna Hills Renewable Energy Act of 2011 (H.R. 441). The House passed the bill October 24, 2011.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the ranking minority member of the energy committee, welcomed passage of the bill, which is similar to S. 313, which she introduced in the Senate with Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, sponsored the House bill.
“Not only does it promote the use of clean hydroelectric energy, it will reduce the traffic of fuel trucks on the Denali Park Road, which will provide for a better park experience for all visitors to one of Alaska’s premier attractions,” Murkowski said.
If passed by the full Senate, the bill would allow the Interior Department secretary to authorize micro-hydropower projects of no more than 100 kW in the park. That would allow Doyon Tourism Inc., a Fairbanks-based native corporation, to build a project on Eureka Creek to power Katishna Roadhouse, a back-country lodge that Doyon owns 100 miles inside the park. The lodge currently is powered by diesel generation.
It also would allow for a land exchange within the Katishna Hills area to consolidate ownership of park and Doyon Tourism lands, including those affected solely by the Doyon hydro project. Park land at the mouth of Eureka Creek would be exchanged by February 2015 for 18 acres of land owned by Doyon within the Galena patented mining claim.
NYPA awards contract for work at Lewiston Pump Generating Plant
The New York Power Authority awarded a nine-year, $10.9 million contract to Eaton Corp. as part of a planned upgrade of the Niagara Power Project’s Lewiston Pump Generating Plant.
Eaton’s agreement includes design, manufacture, delivery, installation and commission of 12 unit control boards and governor controls. The company will replace the electromechanical devices with digital technology capable of microprocessing. Upgraded instrumentation, alarms, unit governing systems and protective relaying systems are also included.
Modernizations at Lewiston will occur at the rate of one unit every eight to nine months, with the final unit to be completed in 2020, Eaton says.
The initiative supports the state renewable portfolio standard, which calls for at least 25% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2013.
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