| Innovation
Hydro powers innovation
Innovative developments in electric vehicle charging and battery energy storage are one step closer to reality thanks to hydropower
RENEWABLE ENERGY AGGREGATORS IS helping to drive the US forwards on the road to sustainable energy generation with plans to develop the American Hydropower Highway (AHH). The plan is for the AHH to provide renewable
energy to power electric charging stations across the US’ entire interstate highway system. The biggest of its kind in the world, AHH is backed by a broad-based coalition of renewable energy and engineering companies, funded with private equity, and led by Renewable Energy Aggregators (REA). It will use untapped water and abandoned land to power a new fleet of all-electric trucks and cars. A leading developer of renewable energy for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, REA has been invited by the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programmes Office to submit an application for the project. REA has already had to demonstrate that its pumped storage plant uses innovative technology and avoids or reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The company will now present final documentation for the first mile of America’s Hydropower Highway. The Susquehanna Microgrid, a US$2.0 billion capital investment project located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, will provide renewable energy for EV charging complexes at rest stops along the Interstate Highway System in the Northeast US. The project is expected to create more than 6500 green jobs in a region historically known as Coal Country. “We are very excited and grateful to the DOE Loan
Programmes Office for inviting REA to submit a Part II loan application,” said Adam Rousselle, CEO of REA. “The DOE offers companies like ours the opportunity to lead America’s energy transition by building long duration renewable energy infrastructure that will power EV cars, light-medium duty trucks, and Class 8 heavy duty trucks for decades to come. “This initiative reflects REA’s goal of becoming an industry leader in renewable energy generation and storage.”
Hydro tests The 142MW run-of-river Vogelgrun hydropower
plant on the Rhine River is demonstrating how a battery energy storage system (BESS) can increase flexibility and reduce wear and tear. As part of the EU-funded energy innovation initiative called XFLEX HYDRO, EDF is leading the demonstration’s coordination while Andritz Hydro is working on computational flow analysis of the turbine, as well as adaptation of the innovative master control for one of the plant’s four low head Kaplan turbines that has been hybridised with the BESS.
Early results have shown a faster time response of the hybrid unit compared to the stand-alone hydro unit. Studies are ongoing to assess the reduced wear and tear effects on the turbine Also under the umbrella of XFLEX HYDRO, the 1800MW Grand Maison pumped storage hydropower plant in the French Alps is testing how hydraulic short circuit (HSC) technology can enable the simultaneous use of very high-head pumps and Pelton turbines, using smart digital controls. Results to date are giving confidence that HSC can become an industrial operating mode. XFLEX HYDRO is a four-year project running until 2023 and has been funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
Defrosting hydropower A new consortium of Swiss hydropower companies
and science firms are working together to help optimise hydropower production through the use of satellite data. Supported by the pilot and demonstration
programme of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, climate tech start-up Wegaw and hydrology experts, as well as the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF and nine hydroelectricity companies, are working together on the Defrost for Hydropower project to improve water supply forecasting in dams across Switzerland’s alpine regions. The project combines snow expertise with
satellite imagery and advanced modelling skills to predict water flow into hydro dams more accurately up to four months in advance, as well as hydrological inflows on a regional scale. These improved forecast insights would support numerous key areas that are important to industry stakeholders, such as hydroelectricity asset efficiency, trading decision making, due diligence and national sustainability efforts. Earlier this year, the methodology was successfully tested in two hydrological basins in Valais and the project is now moving towards the hydrological modelling phase after which Wegaw will work on the economic impact assessment. “Due to the accuracy of our forecasts and the quality of the available data, our team is on track to complete technical and economic evaluations for the consortium,” said Daria Ludtke, CTO and Geospatial Technologist at Wegaw. “These new insights could lead to enhancements in electricity trading for the hydropower companies on a seasonal basis, resulting in more competitive energy pricing and potentially a better environmental impact.” ●
Above: The American Hydropower Highway will provide renewable energy for electric vehicle charging in the northeast of the country
Below: Satellite data is helping to improve water supply forecasting in dams across Switzerland’s alpine regions
www.waterpowermagazine.com | August 2022 | 27
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