Hydrokinetics Revisited
January 6th, 2009
After reading my last post about the hydrokinetic turbine being installed at Lock and Dam 2 Mark Stover, the Vice President of Government and External Affairs at Hydro Green Energy emailed me. He sent some great materials to share:
An overview the Hastings Project (pdf)
An overview of Hydro Green Energy (pdf)
Hydro Green Energy and Green Jobs (pdf)
Also, there was an article about the turbine published in the Pioneer Press on Dec. 25th where the National Park Service expressed its concerns about the the ecological ramifications of the turbine.
Mark Stover’s response letter to the Pioneer Press (pdf).
I’m personally excited about the new hydrokinetics turbine. Some comments from Mark’s letter help me feel comfortable that ecological impacts are being considered:
Fish “grinds” can occur in conventional hydroelectric turbines when fish are exposed to narrow gaps between fixed and moving structures, typically between the blades and the unit that house the blades. Knowing this, Hydro Green Energy’s turbine was designed so that it has no gaps whatsoever. Therefore, fish grinding is entirely eliminated.
The flowing water downstream from Lock & Dam No. 2 spins the hydrokinetic turbine blades. The speed of the moving water in the hydrokinetic turbine, unlike a conventional hydroelectric turbine, moves at approximately the same speed as the rest of the water in the Mississippi River below the dam. Fish are not “sucked into” the device, and in fact, many fish will never enter the unit, another issue, however, that will be studied at the request of the NPS.
A fish mortality model designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and utilized by Hydro Green Energy shows an incredibly high survivability rating. And, while Hydro Green Energy has designed the slowest spinning turbine in the hydrokinetic power industry, it is committed to performing what will serve as the most thorough and precise scientific fish mortality study ever conducted on a hydrokinetic device since the Hastings project is the first commercial installation in U.S. history.
I’m also happy that the National Park Service (the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area) is so concerned about the health of fish, birds, and the public. It’s honorable that the organization is taking their directive to “preserve unimpaired” seriously. It also makes me feel comfortable knowing that the NPS’ knowledgeable passionate workforce will strive to protect our national river.
In the face of climatic and economic crisis, it seems wise to pursue innovative ways of developing green jobs and reducing carbon emissions. With all new endeavors comes risk through unknown variables: will the turbine effect migrating waterfowl? hurt native muscle populations? cause any other sort of problem? I fear that often these unknown risks prevent new ideas from being tried; instead of evaluating risk honestly and mitigating the risk responsibly, then taking an educated leap and potentially ending up with something grand.
