Archive for June, 2010

Inspection spurs alarm about dams

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Feds says there’s potential for catastrophic failure; PacifiCorp calls them safe

By Erik Robinson
Columbian

Federal energy regulators are raising alarm about the potential for “catastrophic failure” of spillway gates on three major PacifiCorp-owned dams on the North Fork of the Lewis River. The concern arises from a 10-year inspection earlier this year by the investor-owned utility that was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in late January. PacifiCorp and the federal agency declined to release the report itself, citing security concerns.

However, it did elicit a strong reaction from federal regulators. (more…)

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Posted in Hydropower, News |

Company gives report on sediment behind dam

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

By Joyce Edlefsen
Standard Journal

REXBURG – Rocky Mountain Power continues its preliminary work prior to starting the physical rebuilding of the Ashton Dam.

After a lengthy review of the condition of the dam by its own engineers, consultants and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the power company decided in February it would rebuild part of the dam.

Initially the company said the project was anticipated to take two years, but upon further analysis, the company has decided to try to complete the work by the end of 2012. (more…)

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Posted in Hydropower, News |

Rains swamp region’s dams

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

Power managers divert flow to reservoirs, slow plant output and give power away

By Ted Sickinger
The Oregonian

Winter’s snow drought has given way to a temporary flood of late-spring runoff, forcing regional managers of the electrical grid to give away power, dial back generation at thermal plants and rapidly fill reservoirs to maintain acceptable conditions for migrating fish.

Robust water flows in the region’s rivers are typically a blessing, creating a bounty for electricity generation, irrigation, fish passage and recreation. Indeed, only a month ago, the Bonneville Power Administration was issuing dire warnings about summer water shortages. (more…)

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Posted in Hydropower, News |

New face for the Falls

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Work in high gear for upgrade, lowering of dam

By Seth Truscott
Snoqualmie Valley Record

Normally, the power generators at the Snoqualmie Falls hydroelectric plant run at a painful roar.

This summer, the machinery is silent for the first time in more than a century.

The silence is bittersweet for folks like Power Plant Manager Dave Magnuson, who has worked alongside mementos of history at the Puget Sound Energy-run site for two years.

“I never thought I’d forget that day,” he said when the generators 270 feet below the Falls were shut down. (more…)

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Posted in Hydropower, News |

Columbia River dams get upgrades

Friday, June 4th, 2010

More power will be generated from same amount of water via $120 million project

By Shannon Dininny
Daily Journal of Commerce

BRIDGEPORT Wash. —Workers are preparing to install a new 45-ton turbine at the second-largest producing dam in the United States, part of a multi-year upgrade that will generate power for an additional 30,000 Northwest homes.

The $120 million project at Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River is one of several planned around the country as the federal agencies that operate hydropower dams replace aging equipment and employ new technology to produce more power from the same amount of water.

In the Northwest, about one-third of the region’s low—cost electricity comes from hydropower dams, many of which were built decades ago and require upgrades. (more…)

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Posted in Environment, Hydropower, News |

BPA makes changes, knows which way the wind blows

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

By Staff
Odessa Record 

As winds picked up May 12, the Bonneville Power Administration warned wind farms at 6:29 p.m. to prepare to shut down the wind turbines in four minutes. The turbines were generating about 600 megawatts more power than expected. The power system could not absorb any more.

For the first time, though, wind farms used a new mechanism BPA designed with wind operators and utilities to escape such a shutdown. They sold 330 megawatts of the unexpected energy for the following half hour. That simple step delivered more wind power to regional customers, earned them more revenue and quickly eased pressure on the power system. (more…)

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Posted in News, Wind Power |