Assessment and Evaluation of New Small Hydropower Technology to be Deployed to the United States 45-Mile Project: “The Turbinator®”

Abstract

The U.S. water supply infrastructure has a hydropower generation potential of about 60,000 MW, which would nearly double the U.S. hydropower production and could create as many as 1.4 million jobs during the next two decades. The Hydropower Improvement of 2011 and Small-Scale Hydropower Enhancement Act of 2011 were introduced in 2011, setting a dynamic hydropower agenda with key highlights including grants, permits, and studies. In September 2011, the Oregon, U.S. based company, Earth By Design Inc. (EBD), was awarded a Department of Energy (DOE) grant to support a two-year project for installation and testing of a new small hydro innovative technology, the Turbinator. The Turbinator, developed by CleanPower AS Company in Norway, is a compact and sealed machine with an axial flow turbine and a permanent magnetized synchronous generator, allowing for a simple but reliable installation while reducing the investment for installing small hydropower plants. Many irrigation canals and non-powered dams in the U.S. could be potential candidates for the Turbinator technology with a much lower cost than existing designs. This project was part of a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) awarded by DOE in 2011, to Earth By Design (EBD); where Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was awarded funding to assess, evaluate and report to DOE the pre- and post-installation phases of the technology findings. The main purpose of the trip to CleanPower, located in Kristiansund, Norway, was to assess and evaluate the Turbinator technology that will be shipped, and installed for the first time, in the U.S. for the 45-Mile irrigation canal project in Oregon. The trip to Norway that was in the original work plan (awarded FOA) proved to be very beneficial for the project progress advancement. The trip to Norway took place from November 19 to November 24, 2012, and several meetings and site visits were scheduled. The first two days were an assessment and review of the hydraulic, mechanical and electrical components of the conceptual designs that included explanations of critical dimensioning by CleanPower design engineers. The third day was spent understanding the team approach and processes that CleanPower and Oshaug Metall AS employ for bronze mold construction and post-mold milling of Turbinator components and visiting the molding company, Oshaug Metall AS, a specialized bronze molding company that fabricates the runner wheel of the Turbinator. The fourth day was spent visiting the second installation of a Turbinator, at Tjeldbergodden, where energy is recovered from a methanol plant cooling water pumps. Discussion about the project progression, ease of implementation, challenges, and installation were very promising. The installation procedures of the second Turbinator at Tjeldbergodden were very basic and simple. The fifth day was scheduled for a visit to the Hegset Dam site, where the first Turbinator was installed. Discussions of the functioning of the Turbinator unit and operational performance and maintenance requirements with facility staff at Hegset Dam were held to gather valuable information. Based on the findings about the Turbinator’s conceptual design and preliminary performance results from the pilot Turbinator installation at Hegset Dam, and the ease of manufacture and installation of the Turbinator at the Tjeldbergodden site; it was concluded that the technology is appropriate and ready for deployment at the EBD 45-Mile site in Oregon. Since the 2013 irrigation season starts April 15 and ends on October 15, and to meet the DOE FOA schedule and deliverables, it was important to have operational data in year 2013. Therefore, a communication was sent from ORNL to EBD on November 23, 2012, with the recommendation to release funds to CleanPower for the final design, manufacture, and deployment of the Turbinator to the U.S for the 45-Mile project in Oregon. As of January 21, 2013, no communication has transpired between EBD and CleanPower. DOE-HQ was notified regarding the status of the project.