Briefings

New Development

Latest Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam meetings end without clear resolution

Days after officials seemed poised for a collaborative breakthrough, a trilateral summit between the foreign ministers of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia failed to resolve long-standing disputes over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The discussion took place in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, during the first week of April and initially seemed to proceed well enough for the African country’s Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity to say the three would “work as one country” to see the 6,000-MW hydropower project through to its completion.

However, speaking to reporters after the conclusion of a 16-hour meeting, Sudan Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said the parties “were not able to reach an agreement on a joint decision, and it’s a technical issue that we cannot discuss.”

The US$6.4 billion project, under construction on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia, has been controversial throughout its decades-long development due in large part to fear from downstream Egypt. Egypt draws nearly all of its waters from the Nile River, which is fed almost entirely by the Blue Nile. The country has expressed concern that the rate at which Ethiopia wants to fill the reservoir behind GERD might cause shortages.

Still, Sudan’s state-run news agency reported the attendees considered the meetings to be “constructive,” with further plans for more talks soon.

Ethiopian Electric Power has been working to build GERD since 2011. GERD is to feature the largest roller-compacted-concrete volume dam in the world at 10.2 million m3. The reservoir it impounds will have a capacity of 70 km2. Two powerhouses will contain 16 Francis turbine-generator units, and total annual generation is expected to be 15 TWh.

Technology & Equipment

Corps awards contract for turbine modernization at McNary hydro project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $321.3 million contract to Alstom Renewable US LLC, a General Electric Company, to design, manufacture and install 14 turbines at the 980-MW McNary plant, located on the Columbia River near Umatilla, Ore.

The Corps said after the design is completed, the turbine components will be manufactured and then installed two units at a time over the course of seven to eight years. The contract is expected to be fully completed in about 14 years.

The award culminates three years of research, planning, design and acquisition to replace the existing turbine runners and associated ancillary equipment. The goals of this re-capitalization and modernization effort include increasing: fish survival, hydraulic capacity, turbine efficiency operational flexibility and turbine operations reliability.

Pumped Storage

Genex selects Andritz as preferred supplier for Kidston 2

Australian renewable energy developer Genex Power Ltd. has named Andritz as its preferred equipment supplier for the 250-MW Kidston Stage 2 pumped-storage hydropower project, which is to be located in northern Queensland.

The selection – made via the McConnell Dowell/John Holland joint venture tasked with providing engineering, procurement and construction services for Genex – dictates Andritz assist in optimizing the plant’s design and supply reversible Francis turbines and other electromechanical equipment.

The Kidston Stage 2 pumped storage plant (K2-Hydro) is one component of a complex that will also include a 270-MW solar facility (K2-Solar). Both were recently awarded development approvals by the Etheridge Shire Council.

The New South Wales-based developer is still working to fund what was previously reported as being a US$257.6 million undertaking, although the Australian Renewable Energy Agency announced close to $3.8 million in financing in November.

Business and Finance

Personnel changes at EDF, Voith and Kleinschmidt

Recently, three companies that work in the hydroelectric market have announced personnel changes: Electricite de France, Voith and Kleinschmidt Associates. Details on each are:

Electricite de France

EDF says Bruno Bensasson is the new group senior executive president responsible for renewable energies and chief executive officer of EDF Energies Nouvelles.

Bensasson takes over from Antoine Cahuzac, who plans to retire. Cahuzac will act as advisor to the CEO until the end of 2018, “to make sure the transition is as smooth and efficient as possible,” a press release says.

Bensasson previously was CEO of Engie Africa and before that worked for GDF SUEZ.

Voith

Stephan Schaller is head of the corporate board of management at Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA, succeeding Dr. Hubert Lienhard, who is retiring as planned.

Schaller has been a member of Voith’s shareholders’ committee since 2015 and has many years of international experience in various sectors and industries outside Voith, including management and leadership positions at Linde, Schott and Volkswagen. He was responsible for the motorcycle division of the BMW Group before joining Voith.

Lienhard has been appointed to the shareholders’ committee and will “support the future development of the company with his specialist expertise.”

Kleinschmidt Associates

Kleinschmidt has made several recent announcements, including the selection of Jon Christensen as the new chief executive officer, replacing Charles Padera, who left the company in November 2017.

Additionally, Chris Goodell has joined Kleinschmidt as principal consultant for hydraulics and hydrology, and Steve Layman as a member of the modeling and GIST division. Together the two have 50 years combined experience managing water resource projects and advancing sustainable solutions and environmental stewardship, Kleinschmidt says.

Marine Hydrokinetics

Report highlights ocean energy activities in 2017

“2017 has been a landmark year in ocean energy,” according to the Annual Report released by the International Energy Agency’s Ocean Energy Systems program.

For example, according to the report, global installed ocean energy power approximately doubled in 2017 compared with the previous year, surpassing 25 MW. Tidal current deployments increased to more than 17 MW and wave energy deployments reached 8 MW. The remainder of the capacity comes from ocean thermal energy conversion and salinity gradient. Tidal range utilization is not included in these figures.

OES includes “the full range of ocean energy technologies” in its work: waves, tidal range, tidal currents, ocean currents, ocean thermal energy conversion and salinity gradients. OES does not include offshore wind, marine biomass or submarine geothermal (which occupy sea space but do not directly utilize the properties of seawater).

The report details achievements and progress in many key tasks, three of which have been concluded. In addition, the OES initiated two new tasks in 2017: establishing a common international stage gate metrics framework to be used by technology developers, investors and funders, and validating numerical tools for tidal energy.

The report also contains highlights from many countries: Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

OES members represent 25 countries.

Dams/Civil Structures

Priest Rapids “stable” after drilling uncovers monolith leaks, says Grant PUD

Officials from Grant County Public Utility District have discovered leakage at its Priest Rapids Dam is being caused by dis-bonded lift joints in the structure’s spillway monoliths.

Grant PUD discovered the leak during inspection drillings late last month, causing the Washington-based utility to declare a “non-failure emergency” in which it reduced the reservoir behind the dam by about 3 feet. Subsequent examination of Priest Rapids has already found lift joint leaks at the same height in four of the dam’s 22 spillway monoliths, indicating they are occurring where one concrete pour was completed and another began.

“To date, inspection drilling has occurred through about half of the spillway and will continue throughout the remaining monoliths,” Grant PUD said in a statement. “This is anticipated to continue into May.”

The utility noted there “is no threat to property or people,” and that operations at Priest Rapids its 955.6-MW hydroelectric plant have not been affected.

“Once the investigation and analysis are complete, Grant PUD officials will make a determination on what, if any, remedies are needed beyond the drilling,” the utility said.

The 10,103-foot-long Priest Rapids Dam – on the Columbia River near Vantage, Wash. – was completed in July 1956. The facility is undergoing a $198 million refurbishment, with major works including the upgrade and replacement of runners, wicket gates, lubrication systems and other associated components.

Grant PUD’s initial review of Priest Rapids began as precautionary work after the utility completed repairs at its Wanapum Dam, where a spillway monolith cracked in February 2014. The incidents, however, are not similar.