Small hydro |
New hydro for South Georgia
A second Gilkes turbine has been installed on the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean
Above: Grytviken Powerhouse
Right: Grytviken on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia
Below: Over seven million penguins live on South Georgia. The two hydro installations on the island have been designed with the environmentally sensitive area and local wildlife in mind
SOUTH GEORGIA IN THE South Atlantic Ocean has a history of hydropower dating as far back as 1914. Home of the Applied Fisheries Research Station, staffed by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and the Museum of South Georgia, it is also the site of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton’s grave. Covering a total area of around 3900km2
, South
Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are classed as sub-Antarctic. Rising steeply from the sea, they are rugged and glacier-covered mountains. South Georgia was originally a whaling base, and the main station was at Grytviken on the northeast side of the island. The station was powered by hydropower
up until the time it fell into disuse in the 1960s. Much of the infrastructure including Gull Lake Dam remained in place and in 2007 Morrison International was commissioned to undertake some refurbishment and rebuilding work. In discussions with Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon of Kendal in England, the decision was taken to install a new hydroelectric generation system, using much of the existing infrastructure. A 13.5” Twinjet Turgo Impulse (a turbine originally designed and patented by Gilkes) was installed in 2008, providing 250kW of power to Grytviken and the British Antarctic Survey Base at King Edward Point.
Second Installation As the island’s power usage trends have steadily
increased, along with the desire to reduce reliance on diesel as backup generation, it meant there was now significant requirement for additional hydroelectric generation on the island. Following flow and pressure measurements carried out by Paul Cousens of the British Antarctic Survey, Gilkes advised on the options and feasibility of a second micro hydroelectric turbine located at Grytviken. The machine would be installed on the recently refurbished domestic water supply pipe from the Bore Valley intake feeding King Edward Point and Grytviken. An essential consideration was that the water supply pressure must be kept above 3 bar. Gilkes considered various options and advised on a 7.5” Turgo with a mechanical output of 13kW.
26 | March 2023 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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