THE NATION’S FIRST COMMERCIAL - Hydropower Reform › sites › default › files ›...

Waterpower XVI Copyright PennWell Corporation, 2009 www.waterpowerconference.com

THE NATION’S FIRST COMMERCIAL HYDROKINETIC POWER PROJECT

AND NEW TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

OF HYDRO GREEN ENERGY

W. Krouse M. Stover

H. Greenberg

Abstract: In early 2009, operations began in the City of Hastings, Minnesota, at the nation’s first commercially-operational, FERC-licensed hydrokinetic power facility (P-4306-017). In what was originally dubbed as a “big science experiment” by the City’s management, came a unique public-private green energy partnership that is taking the hydrokinetic power industry to new heights. At Hastings, Hydro Green installed two hydrokinetic power turbines downstream from the City’s 4.4 MW hydropower plant to increase overall capacity. This unique application of Hydro Green Energy’s patented hydrokinetic technology at an existing hydropower project is increasing the City’s clean energy output and is a technology application that has worldwide use. This paper examines the project and its data. Additionally, Hydro Green Energy’s experiences at Hastings have led to the development of a potentially game-changing technology that is currently under development and previewed in this paper.

1. INTRODUCTION In December 2008, the City of Hastings, Minnesota installed one of two hydrokinetic power turbines in the tailrace (50 feet downstream) of its existing 4.4 MW hydroelectric power station on the Mississippi River. By doing so, the City will deploy patented hydrokinetic power technology from Hydro Green Energy, LLC to boost the City’s overall clean energy output by nearly six percent. This paper will examine Hydro Green Energy, its technology, the benefits of this unique public-private partnership, as well as data from the project’s operations and environmental studies. It will also examine new technology developed by Hydro Green Energy based on its work at Hastings. Deploying Hydro Green Energy’s hydrokinetic power units in the tailrace of an existing hydropower facility allows hydropower project owners to increase their clean energy output within the existing project footprint and with their existing infrastructure. The Hastings project covered in this paper can be duplicated at hydropower facilities worldwide. The new technology developed by Hydro Green also has worldwide applications.

2. HYDROKINETIC POWER OVERVIEW

Hydrokinetic power refers to the generation of power from the flow, currents or velocity of water, whereas hydropower generally refers to power generated using dams or diversionary structures, and relies on pressure or head. Since hydrokinetic power relies simply on the velocity of water, the systems can be placed into sources of flowing water with minimal infrastructure or changes to the environment.

Hydrokinetic power offers renewable energy with no pollution or emission of greenhouse gases. Hydrokinetic power also has the advantage of being predictable and is often available for 24 hours a day, allowing for high capacity factors – potentially as high as 98 percent of the year for in-stream and ocean current projects. The disperse nature of hydrokinetic power allows generation at levels ranging from diesel replacements and distributed power to utility scale power.

Worldwide, there is great interest in the potential for hydrokinetic power to serve as a substantial new source of clean, reliable and renewable energy. And, a hydrokinetic power industry is starting to emerge in a number of countries. Hydrokinetic power holds great promise as a new, carbon-free, domestic energy source. A 2007 study by the US Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) found that the US could develop at a minimum 13,000 MW of river (in-stream) and ocean-based (current, tidal, wave) hydrokinetic energy by 2025.

In addition to exciting new hydrokinetic technologies, much potential remains in the US for new energy capacity at existing hydropower projects (e.g., incremental hydropower upgrades using Hydro Green’s Hydro+™ system) and at non-hydro damns. US DOE studies show that the US could develop as much as 4,300 MW of new clean energy at existing hydropower facilities with capacity additions and efficiency upgrades and more than 13,000 MW at non-hydro dams. In short, there is a vast market for new waterpower projects in the US – this is also true worldwide. Most important, the robust development of a hydrokinetic power industry will increase the world’s ability to combat climate change, reduce the use of fossil sources for power generation, reduce harmful air emissions and help meet the world’s growing demand for new electricity in an environmentally responsible manner.

3. CITY OF HASTINGS, MN HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT

The Mississippi Lock and Dam No. 2 Hydropower Project (FERC Project No. 4306) is located at the US Army Corps of Engineers-owned (USACE) Lock and Dam No. 2 on the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota. The City of Hastings is located in Dakota County. The project is located approximately 15 miles downstream from St. Paul, Minnesota at river mile 815.2. The project began operations in 1987. The City’s hydropower project is a run-of-river facility.

The City’s licensed project consists of (1) a powerhouse containing 2 generating units rated at 2,200 kW each; (2) transmission facilities consisting of: (a) 6.6 kV generator leads; (b) two three-phase, step-up transformers; and (c) a 1,000-foot-long transmission line; and (3) appurtenant facilities. The existing project is situated at the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lock and Dam No 2 between the riverward abandoned lock and the dam.

4. ABOUT HYDRO GREEN ENERGY, LLC

Hydro Green Energy, LLC is a Texas-based renewable energy systems developer and integrator operating in the waterpower industry. Hydro Green Energy’s hydrokinetic power systems generate electricity exclusively from moving water (river currents, tidal currents and ocean currents) without having to first construct dams, impoundments or conduits. The company’s hydrokinetic technology platform is also deployable downstream from existing hydropower projects (a system called Hydro+™), which bolsters the output of the existing facility in an environmentally-sound manner without creating back pressure on the existing facility.

Hydro Green Energy has also developed a patented technology that allows for power generation at existing non-powered lock and dam infrastructure. Known as Lock+™, this new technology is a power-generating lock door that is deployed in the downstream portion of an auxiliary or active navigational lock, thus converting the facility into a renewable waterpower generation facility at prices significantly below conventional hydropower facilities. This technology can also be deployed in the cooling water discharge systems at thermal power plants (coal, nuclear) for energy recovery or energy efficiency purposes and is called Efficiency+™.

Hydro Green Energy holds U.S. Patent # 6955049, two international patents and has over 100 U.S. and International Patents pending on the Company's core technologies. Hydro Green Energy is the only U.S. company with a commercial, federally-licensed hydrokinetic power project.

The motivating concept behind Hydro Green Energy is to reduce the costs of base-load, non-emitting renewable energy production from water resources so that it is less expensive than power generated through the use of fossil fuels. The robust development of new waterpower technologies, such as those of Hydro Green Energy, will substantially bolster efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change, improve air quality, stabilize the electric power grid, better help meet growing electricity demand and lessen dependence on fossil sources for the production of electricity.

5. HYDRO GREEN ENERGY’S PATENTED HYDROKINETIC TURBINE The heart of the Hydro Green Energy hydrokinetic turbine, which is a dual ducted horizontal axis unit, is a turbine assembly with three blades spinning to extract kinetic energy from the water’s flow. The specifications of the Hydro Green Energy turbine in Minnesota are as follows:

Generic Device Specifications Power Conversion Mechanical – Patented Shroud Chain Drive Electrical Output Synchronized with Grid Foundation Surface-Suspended, Anchored Barge Generator AC Induction, Above Water on Platform Dimensions Rotor Diameter 12 feet Exit Duct Length 8 feet Exit Duct Area 200 feet2 Runner depth below surface 9 feet nominal (shaft centerline) Weight Breakdown Structural Steel 12,000 Pounds Rotor (including shaft, blading and shroud) 12,000 Pounds Exit Duct 10,000 Pounds Power Rotor Rotational Speed 21 revolutions per minute (RPM) Number of Blades Three Rotor Tip Speed at 21 rpm 3.67 meters per second Cut-in Water Velocity 1.33 meters per second Maximum Rated Water Velocity 3.5 meters per second Rated Electric Power 100 kW @ 3.5 m/s Capacity Factor Up to 100% - site specific

Availability Factor >99.0 % Turbine Coefficient of Performance [Cp] 0.62 at design flow (gross power at shaft)

6. INSTALLATION OF HYDROKINETIC UNITS IN TAILRACE OF HASTINGS HYDROELECTRIC FACILITY

Through extensive studying of the tailrace of the Hastings facility with CFD modeling, the City and Hydro Green Energy quickly learned that there was an excellent opportunity to generate electricity with Hydro Green Energy’s technology. This modeling was subsequently confirmed by actual flow data that was gathered in the tailrace by Hydro Green’s engineering team (see images below). In fact, the CFD modeling was over 93 percent accurate when compared to actual flow data.

Strong, consistent flows were found in the Hastings tailrace, and Hydro Green Energy confirmed what it suspected – it could match a hydrokinetic power turbine with each

existing hydropower turbine at the facility (two conventional turbines would be matched with two hydrokinetic turbines). As you can see from the images below, the Hastings tailrace has strong water currents flowing from the draft tubes of the Hastings power plant. These are the currents that will be used to generate power from Hydro Green Energy’s patented turbines.

In designing the project, no one was more concerned with the integrity of the civil and marine engineering aspects of the hydrokinetic turbine array design than the City of Hastings and Hydro Green Energy. Conservative estimates of equipment weight, force, drag and other technical factors were thoroughly considered in the design, engineering and manufacture of the anchoring and tethering system. The system is robust.

The tethering materials are similar to those for large tankers or barges, and involve mooring cleats and or bollards permanently affixed to the concrete structures and 1.5-inch diameter braided wire rope with maximum break strength of 41.8 tons.

During high risk events, the City will be able to preemptively demobilize the units by raising them through a hatch in the floating barge. This will immediately reduce drag on the units and loading on the tethering and anchoring system. In the event of a catastrophic flood event, and because there is ample advance warning from stations upstream, the units can be un-tethered and towed to safety. Additionally, daily inspections of the power plant are performed and will include an inspection of the tethering system.

Power generated from the hydrokinetic units will be brought into the City’s existing powerhouse and then distributed to the electric power grid. All power from the hydrokinetic units will be sold via an existing power purchase agreement between the City and Xcel Energy, a Minnesota electric power company. Hydro Green Energy will receive a yearly royalty payment from the City for its use of the patented Hydro Green Energy turbines.

The hydrokinetic turbines will generate approximately 200kW, have a capacity factor of roughly 78 percent (the hydrokinetic units generate when the existing project generates) and increase the City’s overall power output by nearly six percent, or 653 MWh annual.

7. TESTING AND MONITORING OF HYDROKINETIC UNITS AFTER

INSTALLATION Hydrokinetic power technologies hold great promise in terms of their environmental performance. That is, hydrokinetic power technologies are expected to be very fish-friendly and benign from a water quality standpoint. Projects that have been installed to date have shown no impacts, but more data is needed, especially data from operational projects. In order for a hydrokinetic power industry to truly advance in the US or worldwide, the power and environmental performance of these exciting technologies must be well understood by all stakeholders. The City of Hastings and Hydro Green Energy will play a critical role in advancing the global knowledge of hydrokinetic power technologies with the installation of its project in Minnesota.

As part of the US federal licensing process, Hydro Green Energy crafted an environmental study plan after months of in-depth consultation with the various parties to the licensing process such as the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. This Study Plan involves a thorough assessment of how the turbines will affect temperature, dissolved oxygen and turbidity, as well as a fish survival study to evaluate survival using a widely accepted methodology for assessment of direct impacts of turbines that produces highly reliable data. Bird studies will also be conducted. With regard to aquatic species, the City and Hydro Green proposed to study the issue of fish passage survival, which we believe is most important. Modeling to date using the USACE/DOE Fish Mortality Model shows that the new turbines will be extraordinarily fish-friendly, with survival rates of perhaps greater than ninety-nine (99) percent.

FISH STUDIES Entrainment of fish through any type of hydraulic control structure, even natural falls, may pose a risk of injury or mortality. However, there are several key considerations with respect to the level of risk. There are two components to fish passage – entrainment and survival/injury. Entrainment may or may not pose a threat to fish populations and to individual fish. The importance of the occurrence of entrainment depends on site specific factors (e.g., whether mixing of upstream and downstream fishes is necessary or desirable) and whether or not fish pass through the hydraulic control structure safely. The two components can be investigated separately.

With respect to impacts on populations, the most important component is survival and injury. Beginning in the early 1990s, a new approach, the HI-Z Turb N’ Tag (HI-Z tag) methodology, became available to precisely estimate fish survival and injuries after passage through a hydraulic control structure. These estimates have been called direct estimates of survival and injury (e.g., estimation of the direct effects of the hydraulic control structure).

Based on a need to isolate the direct effects of turbines (and subsequently spillway and falls) on fish moving downstream, the (HI-Z tag) methodology (Heisey et al. 1992) was

developed. It provided for consistently high recapture and control group survival rates resulting in highly precise estimates. Additionally, because of the high recapture rates of treatment group fishes, it has been possible to characterize injuries and corroborate injuries and mortality to operating conditions and other design variables at many projects. This methodology has been instrumental in the evaluation of the Voith Siemens Minimum Gap Runner (MGR). The MGR (one of the ‘fish friendly turbine’ designs) was an outcome of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Hydropower Turbine System Program (AHTS); Normandeau Associates, Hydro Green Energy’s environmental consultant, was a member of the Voith project team throughout the AHTS Program.

In some cases, the risk of injury or mortality after passage through a turbine can be very low. Essentially, an outcome involving injury or mortality is probabilistic. The smaller the fish is relative to the size of the water passageway, the lower the risk of injury or mortality. Extensive and robust existing data sets are available as the basis for this statement (e.g., Skalski et al. 2002; Normandeau Associates 2005).

The HI-Z Turb N’ Tag methodology will be used at Hastings to mark, recapture, and evaluate the direct effects of passage of test fish through the hydrokinetic units. The methodology uses a controlled experiment approach. Control group fish experience all aspects of the methodology (e.g., handling, tagging, recapture, holding in tanks) that treatment group fish do except for the treatment variable. In this case the treatment is the passage through the hydrokinetic units. Fish will be tagged with one or more HI-Z tags (also known as balloon tags). HI-Z tags are attached in the deflated condition. After passage through the hydrokinetic units, the HI-Z tags inflate and buoy the fish to the surface where they are recaptured by a boat crew. In addition to the balloon tag(s), a miniature radio tag is also attached to the fish to aid in the recapture. The radio tag allows boat crews to locate the tagged fish and typically be nearby the location that they rise to the surface for recapture. This minimizes the time at large.

Upon recapture of the fish in the tailrace, the biologist quickly removes the balloon and radio tags. Fish are transported to onshore holding tanks for latent mortality evaluation (48 hrs). Also, uniquely numbered visual implant tags will be inserted just behind one eye before the fish is released. Because each fish is uniquely identifiable, the visual implant tags allow for the holding of mixed treatment and control groups in the same tank environment for the 48 hr holding period. After the holding period, or when a fish dies, thorough examinations for injuries are conducted and a photographic record made of those fish with injuries. The Normandeau test will help Hydro Green Energy and the City to state with authority what happens to a fish when it encounters the hydrokinetic units. This is critically needed real-world information.

WATER QUALITY As stated above, it is anticipated that the hydrokinetic units will not have any negative effects on water quality. To demonstrate that there will be no negative effects, the following monitoring will be conducted:

Temperature – one hour interval temperature monitoring with logging thermistors will occur for one month after the hydrokinetic units are deployed. Loggers will be deployed in the Hastings Project tailrace immediately upstream of the hydrokinetic units and immediately downstream from the hydrokinetic units. The capture of this data will show if there is any

change in water temperature from the new hydrokinetic units. Another, expanded time period during the year may be chosen based on the initial results.

Dissolved oxygen – these data will be collected with logging units at user defined time intervals, or grab samples could be collected. Measurements will be recorded from the Hastings Project tailrace immediately upstream and immediately downstream of the hydrokinetic units. The monitoring will be conducted for one month as soon as possible after the hydrokinetic units are first deployed. It is anticipated that the hydrokinetic units will have no effect on dissolved oxygen, however if data indicate a difference, an expanded monitoring program will be developed.

Turbidity – these data will be collected via data logger units or by grab samples. Samples will also be collected immediately upstream and downstream of the Hydro Green hydrokinetic units. The sampling period will be concurrent with the dissolved oxygen and temperature monitoring described above.

8. HYDRO GREEN ENERGY’S LOCK+™ TECHNOLOGY

What is Lock+ and how does it work?

During much of 2008 and 2009, Hydro Green’s founder Wayne Krouse spent many months on Lock & Dam No. 2 in Hastings, MN where the company’s first hydrokinetic project began exporting power to the U.S. grid in early 2009. Lock & Dam No. 2 only has one active navigational lock and no auxiliary lock. A decommissioned lock (the former active lock) exists at the facility, but due to a listing lock wall sheet piling and back fill have rendered it useless for the purposes of Lock+.

During this time, the concept of Lock+ came from the idea of integrating a thinner, slimmer version of the patented hydrokinetic design into the active lock at the site. The idea was that this system would be analogous to a wind turbine during 2/3 of the year (from April to November) when commercial and recreational river traffic required frequent lock transits and it would operated in an intermittent and somewhat unpredictable manner, just like a wind power or solar power project. However, unlike those intermittent and unpredictable renewable resources, the Lock+ project would become a base-load facility for the remaining 1/3 of the year (December to March) when the frozen river prevented any navigational traffic from transiting the locks.

In early 2009, Hydro Green began site surveys of multiple Locks on the Mississippi River. At these site surveys, representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suggested that we use the auxiliary locks so as not to interfere with the locking activities of the active lock. That was our Eureka moment!

On the Mississippi River, all Lock and Dams without existing conventional waterpower facilities below Number 2 have essentially unlimited flow available relative to the potential hydraulic capacity of the lock.

For example, at Lock and Dam Number 3, flow rates typically exceed 10,000 ft3/s. It therefore, will be possible to achieve very high capacity utilizations which is also dependent on a proper hydraulic design. The patented Lock+ system is a modular and interchangeable design that consists of four main components. These main components are:

Lock Frame Module (LFM) Turbine Frame Module (TFM) Central Spacing Module (CSM) Generator Frame Module (GFM)

Back in the 1930’s through 1950’s when most of the U.S. locks were being design, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (what was then the War Department) implemented a standardization of many of their locks. A large percentage of these locks have either a 110 foot width or an 84 foot width. There are a few other sizes but represent less than 5% of all of the locks in the U.S. Therefore, the initial design of the Lock+ system is a large 100 foot LFM (there are approximately five feet of civil works on each side of the lock to support the LFM). The LFM is approximately a 900 ton single lift. Once the LFM has been lowered in between the civil works the other components can then be placed into position.

It is easier to discuss the components in vertical “stacks” and horizontal “layers”. At the bottom of the vertical stack is the TFM. The turbine is 9 feet in diameter, with a projected

nameplate capacity of 750 kW at net heads below 8 feet. The CSM is essentially composed of multiple identically sized “spacing” modules to provide the necessary distance between the turbine and the level of the water in the upper pool. So, the sum heights of the CSM’s must be greater than the radius of the turbine plus the net head.

The top piece of the stack is the GFM. The reason for this is in the Lock+ system, the generator is located above the surface of the water. Instead of a bulb turbine design in which the generator sits below the water surface which would require special access systems to allow maintenance of the generator, the TFM utilizes a chain drive system in which a large dual band, marine rated and plated chain is driven by a sprocket which is attached to the outside of the runner around the turbines entire circumference. While chain drives have been used in waterpower systems before, none have been used in this innovative modular system. Based on initial computational fluid dynamics modeling, our results show that more available cross sectional area is used to generate more power for the same sized bulb turbine with the bulb below the surface of the water.

9. By Extension: Non-Lock Low Head Opportunities

Hydro Green contemplates that the Lock+ system could be used in selected low head hydropower opportunities at a lower cost than the construction of a unique steel and/or concrete. Since the Lock+ system has a standardized design, it will be possible to achieve economies of scales of significantly greater quantity than can be achieved with other designs. Hydro Green believes that a pier based design with LFM’s fitted between each pier could allow development of small to moderate width rivers with net heads into the 30 feet or less range. Continued computational fluid dynamics modeling and future physical modeling we hope will confirm the viability of our design approach.

10. CONCLUSION

The Hastings installation serves as the United States’ first-ever commercially-operational, federally-licensed hydrokinetic power project, a major milestone in US energy policy, as well as in the development of the emerging hydrokinetic power industry. The monitoring and studies performed will provide invaluable environmental information to all hydrokinetic stakeholders, especially state and federal resource agencies who play an active role in the licensing and permitting of hydrokinetic power projects. The information gained at the Hastings project will lead to more thoughtful, well-informed and efficient regulatory proceedings in the future, a major benefit to hydrokinetic power developers and stakeholders alike worldwide.

For the company, the Hastings project will serve as a springboard for Hydro Green Energy’s growth as a renewable energy company, allowing it to move forward on the development of nearly 16 hydrokinetic power projects in the US, and to create new innovative waterpower technologies, such as Lock+.

Authors: Mr. Wayne F. Krouse Chairman & CEO

Hydro Green Energy, LLC 5090 Richmond Avenue # 390 Houston, TX 77056 Phone: 877-556-6566 x-709 Fax: 713-339-9537 e-mail: wayne@hgenergy.com

Mr. Mark R. Stover Vice President of Corporate Affairs Hydro Green Energy, LLC mark@hgenergy.com 5090 Richmond Avenue # 390 Houston, TX 77056 Phone: 877-556-6566 x-711 Fax: 713-339-9537 Mr. Harvey Greenberg Vice President of Engineering Hydro Green Energy, LLC harvey@hgenergy.com 5090 Richmond Avenue # 390 Houston, TX 77056 Phone: 877-556-6566 x-712 Fax: 713-339-9537

THE NATION’S FIRST COMMERCIAL - Hydropower Reform › sites › default › files ›...

Documents

Transcript of THE NATION’S FIRST COMMERCIAL - Hydropower Reform › sites › default › files ›...

Effects of Hydrokinetic Turbines

Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Metocean Data-use, … · Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Metocean Data-use, Sources, ... – MHK industry ... Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Metocean

Hydrokinetic Energy Technologies and Recreationnpshistory.com/publications/water/hydrokinetic-energy.pdf · “Hydrokinetic Energy Projects” refers to technologies that generate

Hydrokinetic Electrical Generation Final

SLIP AT VEHICLE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM WITH HYDROKINETIC ...

Jess Hagen, Tom Krouse , Alyssa Christiansen, Erin Leary

Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology (MHK) Instrumentation

Krouse - Creating a Culture of Wellness in the Workplace

River, Tidal, and Ocean Current Hydrokinetic Energy ...uaf.edu/files/acep/2010_11_1_State_of_the_Art_Hydrokinetic_Final.pdf · 1 River, Tidal, and Ocean Current Hydrokinetic Energy

Riverine Hydrokinetic Technology: A Review

Design of Low Head Hydrokinetic Turbine

Tidal Hydrokinetic Energy and Site Characterization

New Energy Hydrokinetic Power Generation Systems

Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology (MHK) Instrumentation ...

THE HYDROKINETIC

Design Documentation Clint Kehres, Brian Krouse, Jenn Shafner.

FACILITATING HYDROKINETIC ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

Damage Assessment of Hydrokinetic Composite Turbine Bladeseplab.ae.illinois.edu/Publications/SPIE-86942B.pdfDamage assessment of composite blades is investigated for hydrokinetic turbine

Tidal Hydrokinetic Energy - University of Washingtondepts.washington.edu/pmec/docs/20100520_PolagyeB_pres... · 2010. 5. 20. · Tidal Hydrokinetic Energy Brian Polagye Research Assistant

PDG is Growing WINTER 2020 - Poggemeyer › media › nl-2-2020-web.pdfADAM KROUSE. Transportation Department Project Manager. Mr. Krouse is a Project Manager with seven years experience.