Power Generation and Transmission Task Force
"Hydroelectric Generation Efficiency Improvement Project"
August 13-17, 2007
The 1st "Hydroelectric Generation Efficiency Improvement Project" was held from August 13-17, 2007 in support of Asia Pacific Partnership "Power Generation and Transmission Task Force" Action Plans. The program began in Charlotte, North Carolina USA at Duke Energy headquarters and concluded at FirstEnergy’s Yards Creek Pumped Storage Hydroelectric facility in Blairstown, New Jersey, USA. More than 40 participants with hydroelectric engineering, operations, maintenance and management expertise from five APP countries participated in the event.
This program was successful in meeting the objectives of the Power Generation and Transmission Task Force’s plan "to maintain and improve efficiency of power generation facilities" through activities such as site visits of power stations, peer review activities, workshops and capacity building.
The goal is to enable operators to cost effectively upgrade critical components of conventional and pumped storage hydroelectric facilities resulting in more efficient energy production from available water supply, providing additional generating capacity and extending the life of facilities such that new CO2 emitting generation can be deferred.
During the week of August 13-17, 2007 U.S. utilities Duke Energy Corporation and FirstEnergy Corp. and the Edison Electric Institute partnered together to host a technical information program on conventional and pumped storage hydroelectric generation practices. Duke Energy and FirstEnergy discussed methods for conducting a comprehensive equipment condition assessment that enables an "integrated" outage planning approach. This outage planning approach provides the opportunity to reduce operating and maintenance costs, reduce staffing requirements through automation, identify and implement improvements in turbine efficiency and add capacity at a low incremental cost.
Both companies discussed with Asia-Pacific Partners their experiences on maintaining and improving the operation of conventional and pumped storage hydroelectric facilities. Experience in improving hydro plant efficiencies and increasing capacity will serve as the foundation for the hydro electric technical information exchange program for the Asia-Pacific Partnership.
Relationships established by these initial interfaces will facilitate further information exchange regarding engineering concepts / technologies, hydroelectric upgrade approaches, outage planning techniques and grid interfaces to reduce environmental impacts of hydroelectric units and to reduce and/or avoid CO2 emissions.