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R&D Forum

Research reports and study findings related to hydropower
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Report on results of HRF, NHA R&D Survey

Specific to hydro project owners and operators, the four primary R&D topics they are interested in collaborating on are:

  • Technology to increase water- use efficiency;
  • Tools to assess the role of hydropower in system stability and reliability;
  • Predictive maintenance/repair and condition monitoring; and
  • Environmental mitigation effectiveness studies.

The Hydro Research Foundation and the R&D Committee of the National Hydropower Association collaborated to complete the 2014 R&D survey to outline where potential research synergies may exist among respondents.

The priorities above were chosen from among 11 priorities identified during an initial survey in April. Responses to this survey were equally spread among academics, research, owners/operators and consultants.

The next step is to identify core teams of four to five collaborators to draft a proposed research concept by January 2015.

Returning fish counts at record numbers on the Columbia River

Results of fish counting at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River indicate returning coho, fall chinook and sockeye salmon are at or near record numbers this year.

On Sept. 8, the count of 67,521 fall chinook set a single-day counting record at the dam, where counting began in 1938, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. The fall chinook run is strong but not as big as predicted by Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife agencies earlier this year. The agencies predicted the run would be around 1.2 million fish, but that prediction was revised down to 880,000 in mid-September. By Sept. 15, the total was 585,331; in 2013, the run totaled 953,222. The fall chinook counted at Bonneville Dam primarily are wild fish headed to spawn in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.

The coho run is well beyond the 2013 return of 59,610 fish, with 113,180 counted through Sept. 15. The record is 259,533 in 2001, NWPCC says.

The sockeye run in the Columbia River was the largest ever counted at the dam, totaling 614,180 fish by mid-September. NWPCC says the previous record was 516,000 in 2012.

Research to update Maine’s hydropower potential inventory

The Governor’s Energy Office in Maine plans to hire a company to update the state’s inventory of undeveloped hydropower potential.

This work will be performed as part of updating the state’s Comprehensive Energy Plan. The energy office seeks a current inventory of hydro resources and recommendations for regulatory modifications that could expand economic opportunities through additional hydropower production consistent with state environmental objectives.

Additional technologies have been developed since the last inventory in the late 1990s, says Energy Office Director Patrick Woodcock. The expansion of small facilities, use of run-of-river technologies, retrofitting of non-powered dams with hydropower equipment, and increased efficiency of existing projects are seen as ways to expand clean energy production.

The updated inventory is to identify sites that could be developed for small plants, untapped potential at existing facilities, and hydrokinetic energy resources.

CEATI offers report on generators with bypassed stator coils

CEATI International announces availability of its report, Phase 1 — Operation of Hydro Generators with Bypassed Stator Coils.

In this report, results for the operation of hydro generators with bypassed stator coils are shown. Numerical calculations were performed using Infolytica MagNet software on two-dimensional models. Five models were designed: generators 2 and 6 at Glen Canyon, generator 4 in the Grand Coulee left powerhouse, generator 5 at Shipshaw and one Hydro-Quebec generator.

Parameters analyzed were line and phase voltages, phase currents, parallel branch currents and damping winding currents. Operating states simulated include no-load and rated load with and without bypassed coils. Simulation of no-load was necessary to determine the machine geometry and magnetic field. Normal operating state was simulated for the purpose of comparison with the faulty state.

A specific case with one bypassed parallel branch is described. Then the modeling and design process of the model is described and the results of the simulations for each generator are shown. Comparisons between measured data from the generators and calculated results are given. Finally, the report contains conclusions, with recommendations for further work. CEATI’s Hydraulic Plant Life Interest Group prepared this report.

— To request a price quote, visit www.ceati.com/publication-details?pid=0379.

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