Dam owners are increasingly enhancing their revenue by using inflatable flashboards to optimize their hydroelectric production. This new technology offers dam owners and operators increased safety and increased hydroelectric generation, as well as opening the door to tax credits and other incentives.
Flashboards have traditionally been a palisade of wooden boards inserted into the top of a dam's crest. Flashboards increase a dam's capacity to hold water. They are typically used seasonally in temperate climates, and are removed before winter. Flooding or even high water can wash flashboards away, impairing the dam's ability to hold water until they can be replaced. Replacing flashboards can entail danger to personnel, and it might be a long time before water levels recede enough to allow safe reinstallation. In the meantime, a dam's ability to safely store water can be reduced.
Inflatable flashboards allow operators to increase or decrease the effective height of the flashboard system remotely. The ability to quickly and safely restore pond elevation after a high flow event translates into increased electricity generation. For example, inflatable flashboards at the Deer Rips - Androscoggin 3 Hydroelectric Project on the Androscoggin River in Lewiston and Auburn, Maine, have been calculated as likely to increase electric generation by 4.56% compared to a historical baseline.
This incremental hydropower generation can be valuable to the dam owner. Not only does it allow the facility to produce more electricity, but it may also qualify the project for federal and state tax incentives. For example, Section 45 of the Internal Revenue Code provides a renewable energy tax credit to owners or operators of qualified renewable electric generation facilities. That credit was extended to the incremental production gains from efficiency improvements or capacity additions developed between 2005 and 2013. Developers can ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to certify a historic baseline of power produced at existing dams, as well as the incremental increase in hydropower production due to qualifying investments. Once FERC has issued this certification, dam owners can provide that to the Internal Revenue Service to receive the tax credit.
Energy powers society; society's choices shape energy policy. A blog about our energy resources and the choices they present for society.
Showing posts with label Lewiston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lewiston. Show all posts
August 25, 2010 - tidal energy; sewage anaerobic digestion
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
What is the first federal facility anywhere to use tidal power as an energy source? A Coast Guard station in Eastport, Maine is claiming the title with its project to install Ocean Renewable Power Company's tidal energy turbine and generator. ORPC installed a 60 kW tidal turbine and generator in March 2010. Last week, ORPC announced that the unit had commenced powering the Coast Guard's 41' utility boat with electricity of a quality compatible with being grid-tied. Yesterday, in Eastport, there was a celebration of the project's successes and promises.
Lewiston and Auburn, two of Maine's largest sister cities on either side of the Androscoggin River, share sewer treatment services through the Lewiston-Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority. Currently, the plant treats 12.7 million gallons of sewage per day. This process results in two major products: clean water, and the solids that (in technical ways, if not semantically) make up the difference between sewage and water. The authority mixes about half of the solids with wood to make a marketable compost, but has to pay to dispose the remaining solids. Now, the authority is considering installing an anaerobic digestion plant. This plant would have two major effects. First, it would significantly reduce the mass of solids requiring disposal -- up to a 40% reduction. Where that mass would go produces the second major effect of the plant: through anaerobic digestion, combustible gas (primarily methane) is produced from the solids. This gas can be burned in a gas turbine, which can be tied to a generator. For Lewiston-Auburn, gas production is estimated at 170,000 cubic feet of methane per day; the authority estimates that it can produce 2/3 of its own electricity requirements from this fuel stream. The cost? $16.6 million. On September 8, the board of the authority will vote on the project.
The public debate over wind energy's merits continues with this letter to the Lewiston Sun Journal critical of developing wind near small towns and mountains in Maine. Claims made include "they will not produce enough energy to make a dent in our needs, but it will make some investors very rich" and "the energy will be sold out of state".
Copper theft is an issue in Maine. Copper is valuable for its scrap value. Thieves strike utility infrastructure as well as homes. Here's a news report of a thief busted for stealing the copper piping from a house listed for sale.
Lewiston and Auburn, two of Maine's largest sister cities on either side of the Androscoggin River, share sewer treatment services through the Lewiston-Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority. Currently, the plant treats 12.7 million gallons of sewage per day. This process results in two major products: clean water, and the solids that (in technical ways, if not semantically) make up the difference between sewage and water. The authority mixes about half of the solids with wood to make a marketable compost, but has to pay to dispose the remaining solids. Now, the authority is considering installing an anaerobic digestion plant. This plant would have two major effects. First, it would significantly reduce the mass of solids requiring disposal -- up to a 40% reduction. Where that mass would go produces the second major effect of the plant: through anaerobic digestion, combustible gas (primarily methane) is produced from the solids. This gas can be burned in a gas turbine, which can be tied to a generator. For Lewiston-Auburn, gas production is estimated at 170,000 cubic feet of methane per day; the authority estimates that it can produce 2/3 of its own electricity requirements from this fuel stream. The cost? $16.6 million. On September 8, the board of the authority will vote on the project.
The public debate over wind energy's merits continues with this letter to the Lewiston Sun Journal critical of developing wind near small towns and mountains in Maine. Claims made include "they will not produce enough energy to make a dent in our needs, but it will make some investors very rich" and "the energy will be sold out of state".
Copper theft is an issue in Maine. Copper is valuable for its scrap value. Thieves strike utility infrastructure as well as homes. Here's a news report of a thief busted for stealing the copper piping from a house listed for sale.
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