North America |
Modernizing hydropower on the Snake River
New turbines have been installed that improve fish passage at the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam in the US
Left: Ice Harbor Dam personnel installed an advanced technology turbine, the first of its kind, on June 8, 2018. This fixed blade turbine runner was designed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel and Voith for power efficiency and to optimize the safety of fish navigating through Snake River dams
THE ICE HARBOR LOCK and Dam on the Snake River in southeast Washington, US, just became safer for fish and more efficient at generating electricity, thanks to the installation of new turbines.
On February 17 2022, the gantry crane at Ice Harbor
hoisted 360 tons of turbine components, including an adjustable blade turbine runner, shaft, intermediate headcover and upper discharge ring insert, and carefully lowered them into their new home: the Unit 3 turbine pit in the Ice Harbor powerhouse. This is the second of three advanced technology turbines that are scheduled to be installed at Ice Harbor. The first, a fixed blade turbine, was installed in 2018. The turbines were designed to improve fish passage and include greaseless components and improved seal technology to reduce incidents of oil leaking into the river. On top of being better environmentally, projections indicate the new turbines are 3% to 4% more efficient at generating electricity. The installation process for this new turbine is
projected to take until the end of June, when it will go through final commissioning. “We’re spending about four months getting everything ready, getting everything connected, checking systems individually before we actually run water through it,” Kevin Crum, project manager for the Walla Walla District, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), said.
Fish safety The new turbines installed at Ice Harbor were
designed to be safer for fish, reduce maintenance costs and increase power generation efficiency.
Left: The Walla Walla District, in partnership with Voith Hydro Inc., completed assembly and began installation of an advanced-designed hydroelectric turbine at Ice Harbor Lock and Dam on 17 February 2022. This turbine is the second of 3 new turbines coming to Ice Harbor. These turbines will be safer for fish, reduce maintenance costs and increase power generation efficiency by 3 to 4 percent. Final commissioning is scheduled for the summer of 2022
14 | June 2022 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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