Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam. 2,080 Megawatts nameplate generation capacity. May 6, 2013.

Brainpower for Hydropower

Brainpower for Hydropower

May 10, 2012 

Mark Cecchini-Beaver at the University of Idaho is one of ten new participants in the Hydro Fellowship Program. | Photo courtesy of the Hydro Research Foundation.

Jonathan Bartlett

Education and Outreach Lead, Water Power Program

What are the key facts?

• Today the Energy Department announced 2012 selections for the Hydro Fellowship Program.
• This fellowship program provides participants with financial assistance and the opportunity to pursue a variety of hydropower research topics.

Today, the Energy Department, in cooperation with the Hydro Research Foundation, announced the 2012 selections for the Hydro Fellowship Program. Through their research, these 10 new Fellows will work to advance hydropower technology development and deployment in the United States.

Through targeted workforce development and training opportunities, the Hydro Fellowship Program supports the Obama Administration’s goals of advancing education opportunities in the science, technology, math and engineering fields. In total, the program has funded 33 graduate students at 19 universities in 16 states. Together this next generation of hydro-power leaders will strive to make hydropower more efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost effective.

The fellowship program, which is funded by the Energy Department, provides Fellows with financial assistance and the opportunity to pursue a wide variety of hydropower research topics – including those related to water quality, wildlife interactions, environmental impacts, technology development and more. Each Fellow is paired with a mentor to gain real-world knowledge of the hydropower industry.
The 2012 class of Hydro Fellows includes:

• Mark Cecchini-Beaver at the University of Idaho, who will develop a computer model describing the legal, technical, and physical constraints of the Columbia River, and use this model to inform review of the 2014/2024 Columbia River Treaty.
• Sean Brosig at Oregon State University, who will research a methodology to reduce the strain on hydro turbines using life-extending control of multiple energy storage systems.
• Stanley Dittrick at Washington State University, who will research novel materials and coatings to reduce erosion and damage of turbine surfaces.
• Samuel Dyas at the Colorado School of Mines, who will research instrumentation and analysis techniques and explore their application in monitoring functioning turbines to allow for predictive maintenance.
• Benjamin Foster at the University of North Carolina, who will research how financial risk management techniques can be used to enable more sustainable hydropower production.
• Adam Greenhall at the University of Washington, who will research the cost-saving benefits of using computer models to find optimal scenarios of wind, hydro, and thermal energy generation to allow for constant and least-cost energy production.
• Tresha Melong at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, who will research how hydropower projects can be designed to allow for the downstream passage of the American eel.
• Mark Raleigh at the University of Washington, who will research how to improve the representation of snow in summer hydropower forecasting.
• Karen Studarus at the University of Washington, who will conduct research to better understand how operators dispatch hydropower and other energy sources and balance these with competing water uses in the Federal Columbia River Power System.
• Marc Whitehead at Oregon State University, who will conduct a design and manufacturing study of hydraulic turbine systems using composite materials with natural and recycled fiber reinforcements.

Visit the Hydro Research Foundation’s website for a detailed list of the Fellows and their work.
For more information on how the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy works to accelerate the development and deployment of hydropower technologies, visit the Water Power Program website.

GE’s Power Conversion Technology Drives Innovative ‘Pumped Storage’ Hydropower Project in Portugal

25 April 2012

GE’s Power Conversion Technology Drives Innovative ‘Pumped Storage’ Hydropower Project in Portugal

 

• Voith to Install GE’s Power Conversion Technology in Variable Speed Pump Turbines for Portugal’s Frades II Plant
• Variable Speed Pump Turbines Offer Greater Control of Plant Output to Meet Grid Conditions
• GE’s Energy Management Solutions Help Utilities Stabilize Grid, Supply More Renewable Energy in Europe

BERLIN, GERMANY—April 25, 2012—With more European countries harnessing their hydropower resources to stabilize their transmission grids and support greater alternative energy production, GE Energy’s (NYSE: GE) Power Conversion business today announced it will supply its advanced power conversion technology to Voith for the new Frades II pumped-storage hydropower plant. The facility is being built on the left bank of the Cávado River in the Braga region of northern Portugal.

Frades II is one of six new hydropower plants that Portuguese utilityEnergias de Portugal (EDP) is building throughout the country. When construction is completed in 2014, the facility will be one of Europe’s most powerful pumped storage power plants and will complement the existing Frades I and Vila Nova facilities.

Demand for pumped-storage plants is increasing due to their flexible energy storage and grid stabilizing capabilities that can help utilities more effectively manage the intermittency of wind energy and other renewable sources.

The variable speed pumps will allow for better grid regulation, which will become increasingly important as Portugal seeks to dramatically increase renewable energy production. The country currently generates about 15 percent of its electricity from wind power but is planning to add another 5.4 gigawatts of wind power capacity in the next 10 years. Portugal is one of Europe's pioneers in the development of renewables. Despite the high power levels, Frades II will still meet all of Portugal’s stringent grid-connection requirements.

Germany-based Voith is supplying two reversible pump turbine sets and electromechanical equipment for the project, which represents the next generation of hydropower facilities. The two-pump turbine sets will feature GE’s variable-speed power conversion technology, making Frades II the first pumped storage power plant in Portugal to use this system. At 420 MVA each in generator mode, the sets also will be the most powerful variable-speed systems in Europe.

Speed variability of the pump turbines enables continuous control of the hydropower plant's output. Traditionally, operators have controlled pump output in fixed-speed, pumped-storage power plants by activating or deactivating individual machine sets. However, by using GE’s variable-speed drive technology at Frades II, EDP will have greater control over the plant’s turbine performance in pump mode, with each of the pump turbine sets able to handle a wider range of energy for the grid. Also, EDP will achieve higher efficiency levels—especially in partial-load conditions—because the plant’s equipment can be adjusted to meet the grid’s changing requirements.

"With our variable speed drive technology, pumped-storage plant operators are better able to meet the need for peak supplies of power. This capability is essential to the future integration of more renewable energy onto the grid," said Georg Möhlenkamp, senior leader product management of GE Energy’s Power Conversion business. “GE’s variable speed technology is playing a vital role in enabling pumped-storage power plants to have shorter response times and greater flexibility in reacting to changing wind power conditions that can undermine grid reliability. This is just one example of how GE’s energy management solutions are playing an important supporting role in the expansion of renewable energy throughout Europe.”

GE Energy’s Power Conversion business is a leading supplier of equipment for variable-speed pumped-storage power plants in Europe, with the company equipping 14 out of 16 variable-speed pump turbines that have been built or are under construction in the region, including:

• The Goldisthal pumped-storage power plant in the German federal state of Thuringia: With a total output of 1,060 MW, this facility is Germany's largest pumped storage plant of its kind in Germany. The facility has been operating smoothly since 2002.
• Switzerland: A total of 10 pump turbines at two plants are being equipped with variable speed drives. These systems generate a combined power output of more than 2,000 MW.

GE Energy’s Power Conversion business serves the power generation industry with the most advanced and complex technological solutions for converters, generators, connections and electronics that are specifically designed for hydroelectric, fossil fuel and nuclear power plants.

About GE Energy’s Power Conversion business

GE Energy acquired Power Conversion (then known as Converteam) in September 2011. GE Energy’s Power Conversion business applies the science and systems of power conversion to help drive the electric transformation of the world’s energy infrastructure. Designing and delivering advanced motor, drive and control technologies that evolve today’s industrial processes for a cleaner, more productive future. It serves specialized sectors such as energy, marine, industry and all related services. To learn more, please visit: www.ge-energy.com/electrifyingchange.

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

GE Energy works connecting people and ideas everywhere to create advanced technologies for powering a cleaner, more productive world. With more than 100,000 employees in over 100 countries, our diverse portfolio of product and service solutions and deep industry expertise help our customers solve their challenges locally. We serve the energy sector with technologies in such areas as natural gas, oil, coal and nuclear energy; wind, solar, biogas and water processing; energy management; and grid modernization. We also offer integrated solutions to serve energy- and water-intensive industries such as mining, metals, marine, petrochemical, food & beverage and unconventional fuels.

DOE Reports Show Potential for Wave & Tidal Energy Production

Progress Alert from the U.S. Department of Energy:

DOE Reports Show Major Potential for Wave and Tidal Energy Production Near U.S. Coasts

January 18, 2012

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released two nationwide resource assessments showing that waves and tidal currents off the nation's coasts could contribute significantly to the United States' total annual electricity production, further diversify the nation's energy portfolio, and provide clean, renewable energy to coastal cities and communities. These new wave and tidal resource assessments, combined with ongoing analyses of the technologies and other resource assessments, show that water power, including conventional hydropower and wave, tidal, and other water power resources, can potentially provide 15% of our nation's electricity by 2030. Today's reports represent the most rigorous analysis undertaken to date to accurately define the magnitude and location of America's ocean energy resources. The information in these resource assessments can help to further develop the country's significant ocean energy resources, create new industries and new jobs in America, and secure U.S. leadership in an emerging global market.

The United States uses about 4,000 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity per year. DOE estimates that the maximum theoretical electric generation that could be produced from waves and tidal currents is approximately 1,420 TWh per year, approximately one-third of the nation's total annual electricity usage. Although not all of the resource potential identified in these assessments can realistically be developed, the results still represent major opportunities for new water power development in the United States, highlighting specific opportunities to expand on the 6% of the nation's electricity already generated from renewable hydropower resources.

The two reports—"Mapping and Assessment of the United States Ocean Wave Energy Resource" and "Assessment of Energy Production Potential from Tidal Streams in the United States"—calculate the maximum kinetic energy available from waves and tides off U.S. coasts that could be used for future energy production, and which represent largely untapped opportunities for renewable energy development in the United States.

The West Coast, including Alaska and Hawaii, has especially high potential for wave energy development, while significant opportunities for wave energy also exist along the East Coast. Additionally, parts of both the West and East Coasts have strong tides that could be tapped to produce energy.

Earlier this year, DOE announced the availability of its national tidal resource database, which maps the maximum theoretically available energy in the nation's tidal streams. This database contributed to the "Assessment of Energy Production Potential from Tidal Streams in the United States" report, prepared by Georgia Tech.

The wave energy assessment report, titled "Mapping and Assessment of the United States Ocean Wave Energy Resource," was prepared by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), with support and data validation from researchers at Virginia Tech and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The report describes the methods used to produce geospatial data and to map the average annual and monthly significant wave height, wave energy period, mean direction, and wave power density in the coastal United States. NREL incorporated the data into a new marine and hydrokinetic energy section in their U.S. Renewable Resource atlas.

In addition to the wave and tidal resource assessments released today, DOE plans to release additional resource assessments for ocean current, ocean thermal gradients, and new hydropower resources in 2012. To support the development of technologies that can tap into these vast water power resources, DOE's Water Power Program is undertaking a detailed technical and economic assessment of a wide range of water power technologies in order to more accurately predict the opportunities and costs of developing and deploying these innovative technologies. The Program is currently sponsoring over 40 demonstration projects that will advance the commercial readiness of these systems, provide first-of-a-kind, in-water performance data that will validate cost-of-energy predictions, and identify pathways for large cost reductions.

These resource assessments, techno-economic assessments, and technology demonstration projects are critical elements of DOE's strategy to capture the very real opportunities associated with water power development, and to further define the path to supplying 15% of the nation's electricity through water power technologies.

DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy invests in clean energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce dependence on foreign oil. DOE's Water Power Program is paving the way for industry and government to make sound investment and policy decisions about the deployment of renewable water power technologies by quantifying the nation's theoretically available water power resources.

News Release from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory:

Electronic Atlas Maps U.S. Renewable Energy Resources

Friday, January 06, 2012

A new geospatial application developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) allows users to easily and accurately map potential renewable energy resources in the United States.

The interactive tool, RE Atlas, is free to use and available online at http://maps.nrel.gov/re_atlas.

"Ease of use and breadth of data make RE Atlas an excellent tool for policymakers, planners, energy developers, and others who need to better understand the renewable resources available in the United States," said Dan Getman, whose team in NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center developed the tool. "RE Atlas is an important addition to NREL's suite of geospatial tools, because it brings together so many renewable energy datasets in one easy-to-use tool."

RE Atlas is designed to facilitate energy policy development, investment, and education by making high quality data accessible and easy to understand. The tool creates dynamic maps of renewable resources, including biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind. RE Atlas can display resources individually or in a composite fashion.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

(Archived Article) Portugal Gives Itself a Clean-Energy Makeover

The contents of this post were gleaned from a New York Times article with the above title.  The original article was published August 9, 2010.

Five years ago, the leaders of Portugal decided to harness the country’s wind, hydropower, sunlight, and ocean waves.

Nearly 45% of the electricity in Portugal’s grid will come from renewable sources this year, up from 17% just five years ago.

Land-based wind power has expanded sevenfold in that time.  And Portugal expects in 2011 to become the first country to inaugurate a national network of charging stations for electric cars.

Portugal has little fossil fuel of its own.

Portugal participates in the European Union’s version of cap and trade.

Portuguese households have long paid about twice what Americans pay for electricity.

To force Portugal’s energy transition, the prime minister’s government restructured and privatized former state energy utilities to create a grid better suited to renewable power sources.  To lure private companies into Portugal’s new market, the government gave them contracts locking in a stable price for 15 years.

Portugal has large untapped resources of wind and river power, the two most cost-effective renewable sources.

While the government estimates that the total investment in revamping Portugal’s energy structure will be about 16.3 billion euros, that cost is borne by the private companies that operate the grid and the renewable plants and is reflected in consumers’ electricity rates.  The companies’ payback comes from the 15 years of guaranteed wholesale electricity rates promised by the government.  Once the new infrastructure is completed, it is expected that the system will cost about 1.7 billion euros a year less to run than if formerly did, primarily by avoiding natural gas imports.

To ensure a stable power base when the forces of nature shut down, the system needs to maintain a base of fossil fuel that can be fired up at will.

Portugal began upgrading its grid of transmission lines a decade ago.  Accommodating a greater share of renewable power cost an additional 480 million euros, an expense folded into electricity rates.

Environmental and conservation groups are concerned about the effects of so many new wind turbines and dams on wildlife and habitat.

Renewable energy has not created many green jobs.