Power management company Eaton has secured funding from the
U.S. Department of Energy to deploy new hydropower generation at existing
non-powered dams and waterways. Under this second stage of the contract, Eaton
will manufacture and test new, low-cost integrated hydropower turbine and
generator sets to help enhance the cost-effectiveness of new hydropower
generation facilities.
“According to Energy Department assessments, more than 50 G
of potential capacity remains untapped at existing small-scale hydropower
sites, which is a huge potential resource for renewable energy,” said David
Yee, principal engineer, Eaton research and technology. “Eaton is leveraging
decades of manufacturing and engineering expertise to help innovate hydro
turbine technology to improve economics in small-scale hydropower applications
and make renewable power more accessible to developers.”
The initial phase of this project focused on turbine design,
analysis and optimization. As part of that phase, Eaton performed a system
architecture and trade study to establish component sizing to help optimize
system cost, performance and versatility for non-powered dam sites. During this
second phase of the project Eaton will build and test a scaled-down prototype
of the turbine and generator. This is expected to be complete in 2018.
Project findings will benefit numerous groups, including
power producing asset owners and managers by contributing to more efficient and
diverse technologies; electrical power consumers, who will have access to more
reliable power sources; and companies involved in new power projects, who can
grow their businesses by adding generation capacity to non-powered dams.
source: REMagazine
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