The Amador Water Agency In-Conduit Hydropower Development Project (AWA Project)
New higher-efficiency Pelton turbine designed for small in-conduit hydropower applications
Amador Water Agency
Recipient
Sutter Creek, CA
Recipient Location
4th
Senate District
1st
Assembly District
$750,000
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
Site preparation and construction began in December of 2018 and continued through January of 2020. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, commissioning and startup was delayed until November of 2020. Initial production startup took place in December of 2020. Due to high vibrations and temperatures in the turbine bearings, run time was limited. In May of 2021, new bearings based on manufacturer re-design were installed, which resolved the temperature and vibration issues and the unit ran normally.
The Issue
One of the oldest turbine technologies in California is the Pelton turbine, designed for high pressure conduit sites. There are an estimated 62 MW of installed Pelton turbines in California that are nearing the end of their in-service asset life and an estimated 8.2 MW of new small, in-conduit Pelton sites that remain undeveloped due to lack of efficiency and high costs. There is an immediate need to design, test, and demonstrate an improved and more efficient Pelton turbine runner in order to provide a viable retrofit solution for degrading sites and expand small hydropower deployment in new sites throughout California.
Project Innovation
The goal of this project is to design, test, and demonstrate a 417 kW in-conduit Pelton turbine runner at an existing Pressure Reducing Station (PSR) site located in Ione, California. The project will demonstrate the ability to maximize the wasted energy captured at the station using an improved design of a higher-efficiency Pelton turbine runner specifically designed for small, in-conduit hydroelectric applications to contribute in the integration of in-conduit small hydropower into the existing state energy mix.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
The system developed under this project will recover and maximize the capture of wasted energy in a Pressure Reducing Station (PRS); improve the efficiency, performance, and cost of the Pelton turbine technology to capture wasted energy; provide a viable retrofit solution; and help expand small hydropower deployment.
Affordability
Water agencies throughout the state will have an opportunity to generate additional revenue and offset ever-increasing electricity costs associated with treating, distributing, and collecting water.
Environmental Sustainability
The ability to capture the wasted energy at the Pressure Reducing Station to generate over 72,000 MWh of renewable power will offset 50,650 metric tons of CO2-equivalent over the 50-year useful asset life of the equipment.
Reliability
The project will help achieve greater electricity reliability by supporting the generation of 72,000 MWh over a 50-year asset life of distributed, baseload renewable power using rotating equipment.
Key Project Members
Rick Ferriera
Tim Brown
Subrecipients
NLine Energy, Inc.
Gilbert Gilkes and Gordon Ltd
JSP Automation
Laminar Energy Services
Mechanical Analysis and Repair (dba MarTech)
Bailey Civil Engineering
Central Sierra Electric
Match Partners
NLine Energy, Inc.
Amador Water Agency
