North America | New builds and upgrades IWP&DC provides details on hydropower projects currently underway in the US


Above: Aerial view of Markland Hydro station. Courtesy of Duke Energy


BUILDING ON THE SUCCESS of the Matilda Hamilton Fee Hydroelectric Station at Lock 12 on the Kentucky River, Berea College has announced it is partnering with Appalachian Hydro Associates to construct a second hydropower plant 35 miles upstream at Lock and Dam 14 near Heidelberg in Lee County, in the US state of Kentucky. In 2021, Berea College became the first higher education institution in the US to complete construction of a hydroelectric generating plant, located on the Kentucky River near Ravenna. In January, the Berea College Board of Trustees gave the go-ahead for the second project. Lock 14 – like Lock 12 – was originally built and used for navigation and was abandoned in the mid-1990s. The dam currently is used for water supply and to maintain the river for recreational use. “As the Matilda Hamilton Fee Hydroelectric Station


project matured, and as we started to receive returns on our investment, our Board of Trustees permitted us to proceed with this second project,” said Berea College President Lyle Roelofs. “I like to say that every molecule of water will work twice for us once we get the second project up and running.” The Lock 12 project – the first new small hydro


project built in Kentucky in 94 years – allowed Berea College and its partner Appalachian Hydro Associates to learn valuable lessons that are being carried over to the new project. Additionally, new equipment options and design concepts are available, allowing Lock 14 to produce 30% more power. The new project will still incorporate many important features demonstrated at Lock 12, such as submersible turbine-generators to handle the huge floods on the Kentucky River and construction in the abandoned lock chamber to eliminate the need for a large cofferdam, which is typical in most hydro-plant construction. With this second project, the existing electrical usage of Berea College will be more than entirely offset by hydropower. “With our new project at Lock 14, Berea College


18 | June 2022 | www.waterpowermagazine.com


is once again demonstrating its commitment to environmental sustainability,” Roelofs said. “With these two projects, we are not just teaching our students about the value of renewable, carbon-free energy generation. These projects demonstrate our commitment to Appalachian communities as we deliver on our commitment to mindful and sustainable living. “We can do something that’s operationally sustainable, we can be a model for other organizations, and we can do something that will benefit the economy in the counties that have been hampered by national changes in the economy,” he added. Other agencies and firms involved in the project include the Kentucky River Authority, Jackson Energy Cooperative, Wright Concrete & Construction of Pikeville, Rimar Electric of Winchester, Modern Welding of Kentucky, Kleinschmidt Group and Voith. The new Lock 14 powerhouse will be placed in


the existing lock chamber and constructed out of reinforced concrete. The powerhouse will be 52ft wide and 18.5ft long. Unlike the powerhouse at Lock 12, the new powerhouse will employ a submerged horizontal trash rack, with the upper pool being maintained with a movable spillway so there is no part of the powerhouse visible above the lock chamber. The spillway can be lowered to allow the river to flush downstream any debris that builds up. The powerhouse will contain six Voith StreamDiver submersible turbine-generator units, consisting of four 14.9 StreamDiver axial flow 1490mm propeller turbines directly coupled to a 645kW permanent magnet generator and two 8.95 StreamDiver axial flow 895mm propeller turbines directly coupled to a 225kW permanent magnet generator. The total output of the plant will be 3030kW The StreamDiver units will be mounted horizontally so the water can travel straight through, as opposed to the vertical units used at Lock 12. This change in the turbine mounting from vertical to horizontal,


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37