water power & dam construction

JUNE 2009

Serving the hydro industry for 60 years: 1949-2009

Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum

Milestones in rehabilitationwork

FocusonNorth America

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L

&DAMCONSTRUCTIONWaterPowerEditorCarrieann StocksTel: +44 20 8269 [email protected]

Contributing EditorsPatrick ReynoldsSuzanne Pritchard

Editorial AssistantsElaine SneathTracey Honney

Advertising SalesScott GalvinTel: +44 20 8269 [email protected]

Deo DipchanTel: +44 20 8269 [email protected]

Tim PriceTel: +44 20 8269 [email protected]

Senior Graphic DesignerNatalie Kyne

Production ControllerLyn Shaw

Commercial DirectorMaria Wallace

Publishing DirectorJon Morton

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CONTENTS

COVER: Read details on some of thelatest rehabilitation projects in NorthAmerica, and news on the latestdevelopments, starting on p10

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37

16

DAMENGINEERING

ModernPowerSystemsCOMMUNICATING POWER TECHNOLOGY WORLDWIDE

INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION • ISSN 0306-400X Volume 61 Number 6 • JUNE 2009 3

46 PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY48 WORLD MARKETPLACE

WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM

MEMBER OF THE AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION

R E G U L A R S

4 WORLD NEWS9 DIARY

F E A T U R E S

NORTH AMERICA10 Innovation under water

Teamwork was key to the successful repair of a crackedsurge shaft liner at the Middle Fork hydro project on theAmerican River in California. Learn how work was under-taken without dewatering the surge shaft and tunnel

16 Milestone construction at Wolf CreekA new concrete cutoff wall is being constructed at WolfCreek Dam in the US to help remedy seepage problems

22 National honour for American Hydro PresidentWe look back at the career of Selim Chacour, President ofthe American Hydro Corporation, who was recentlyelected to the National Academy of Engineering

24 Powering up the MississippiUS-based company Free Flow Power is utilising untappedhydrokinetic energy on the Mississippi river

26 Exhibitor list – on show in SpokaneSome of the companies who will be attending WaterpowerXVI in Spokane detail what will await visitors to theirexhibition stands. If you’re attending the show, make sureyou visit the IWP&DC team on booth 4008

TUNNELLING34 Developing A Luoi

With work well underway on the A Luoi hydro projectin Vietnam’s Thua Thien Hue Province, Carrieann Stockstalked to contractor Cavico Corporation to learn moreabout their involvement in the project’s tunnel system

SMALL HYDRO AWARD37 Best of the best in small hydro

Part 2 of our special feature on some of the world’s besthydro projects under 50MW, focusing on the Bethlehemscheme in South Africa and the McLeod Green Energyproject in Canada

FORUM40 HSAF – an assessment tool for sustainability

Detailing the objectives, and progress, of the HydropowerSustainability Assessment Forum

44 The HSAF process - view from an NGOPeter Bosshard of the International Rivers Networkpresents his view of the HSAF process

The paper used in this magazine is obtainedfrom manufacturers who operate withininternationally recognised standards.The paper is made from Elementary ChlorineFree (ECF) pulp, which is sourced fromsustainable, properly managed forestation.

10

WORLD NEWS

4 JUNE 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION

WORLDNEWS

WORLDNEWS

www.waterpowermagazine.com

HYDRO IS TO ACCOUNT FORmore than half of renewableselectricity generation glob-

ally to 2030, according to theInternational Energy Outlook

Hydro growth to dominaterenewables, says EIA report2009 forecast from the US EnergyInformation Administration (EIA).

The report says that 1.8T kWh, or54%, of the increase in annual outputof renewables is forecast to be met byhydro power by the end of the 2006-2030 period.

It added that apart from wind power– estimated to meet a third of therenewables supply – most other tech-nologies were believed not to be eco-nomically competitive with fossil fuelsover the 24-year period.

In total, total renewables output(non-OECD and OECD) is projected toincrease from 3.2T kWh in 2006 to6.7T kWh by 2030.

Annually, hydro power generationglobally is forecast to rise in OECD

countries from 1.3T kWh in 2006 to1.5T kWh by 2030. In non-OECD coun-tries, the increase in hydro output isprojected to increase from 1.7TkWh/yr in 2006 to 2.5T kWh/yr in2015 to 3.2T kWh/yr by 2030.

The main area for growth in hydroprojects will be non-OECD countrieswith mid- to large-scale schemes inChina, India, Brazil and parts ofSoutheast Asia. Few large-scale proj-ects are planned for OECD countries.

While wind is also seen to have sig-nificant growth potential in non-OECDcountries, along with biomass it isalso seen, however, to be the domi-nent area of renewable energy growthin OECD countries.

Global electricity generation is fore-

cast to jump by about three-quartersto almost 32T kWh by 2030 comparedto output in 2006. The study assumesthat growth will get back to trend afternext year following the impact of thecurrent economic recession.

Despite increasing efforts to pro-mote carbon offsetting projects,including hydro power schemes thatmay also benefit economically fromcarbon credit revenues, the reportnoted that coal consumption was pro-jected to increase at 1.7% on an aver-age annual basis to 2030.

With respect to non-OECD Asia, thereport added that much of the region'sincrease in energy demand is expect-ed to be met by coal, particularly in theelectric power and industrial sectors.

Canadian facility first to benefitfrom Green Infrastructure FundTHE FIRST PROJECT TO BE

funded under Canada’s new$1B Green Infrastructure Fund,

part of the government's EconomicAction Plan, will be the enhancementof existing hydro power infrastructureat the Mayo hydro facility along withPhase 2 of the Carmacks-Stewarttransmission line.

The Mayo B initiative will be car-ried out by a partnership of theCanadian government, Yukon FirstNations and the Federal governmentand is aimed at expanding signifi-cantly the country’s proportion ofhydro-generated power.

Due to Yukon's current reliance ondiesel for much of its electricity, it is

expected that the project will reduceforecast diesel generation in 2012 byover 40%. In turn, this will reducegreenhouse gases from energy pro-duction by 50% from current levels.

The governments of Canada andYukon will be contributing funding forthis project, the national govern-ment’s share being estimated at upto $71M of an estimated total cost of$160M.

Upgrades to the Mayo facility willinclude building a new powerhousedownstream from the existing one,while Phase 2 of the Carmacks-Stewart transmission line will completethe development of a transmission lineconnecting Yukon's two grid systems.

This investment also supports theCanadian government’s integratedNorthern Strategy that is focused on‘strengthening Canada's sovereignty,protecting its environmental heritage,promoting economic and social devel-opment and improving and devolvinggovernance.

The $1B over five years for theGreen Infrastructure Fund is to supportsustainable energy generation andtransmission, along with municipalwastewater and solid waste manage-ment infrastructure. It is part of thegovernment’s 2009 Economic ActionPlan for investment in infrastructurewith almost $12B in new infrastructurestimulus funding over two years.

ASTALDI IS TO BUY A STAKE INthe Chacayes project in Chile, onwhich it is already working

through a turnkey contract for devel-oper Pacific Hydro.

The Italian firm has agreed to pur-chase a 27.3% stake in Pacific HydroChacayes S.A., the stand-alone com-pany building the 111MW plant.

Financial terms of the deal were notdisclosed. Astaldi will hold the stakevia a new company it will establishalong with investment partner SimestSocieta Italiana per le Imprese

all'Estero, which promotes Italianinvestment overseas.

Pacific Hydro is looking at develop-ment of a further three plants in theCachapoal catchment, which Astaldinoted was of strategic interest.

The Chacayes plant will have 7kmof tunnels and a powerhouse with apair of 55.4MW turbines to generateapproximately 57GWh per year.

In the third quarter of 2008, Astaldiwas awarded an engineering, procure-ment and construction (EPC) contractworth US$282M to build the project.

The project developer holds perpet-ual water rights and 60% of the energyoutput is to be sold under long-termpower purchase agreements (PPAs)when the plant becomes operational,scheduled for 2011.

The development budget is approx-imately US$450M, and the other threeprojects in the valley are valued atmore than US$1B. Last year Astaldientered into a development agreementwith the Australian company to look atpotential projects in the river basin,such as Nido de Aguila and Las Lenas.

Astaldi to buy stake in Chacayes

THE PROVINCE OF NEUQUEN INArgentina has established a neworganisation, Emhidro, to devel-

op and run the Chihuido I and II proj-ects and other hydro power schemeslocally and elsewhere in the country.

Bids to build the 474MW Chihuido Iproject are to be opened next month.

In creating Emhidro(Emprendimientos HidroelectricosSociedad del Estado Provincial), theprovincial government is looking to putNeuquen on the map of hydro devel-opment by leveraging the capabilitiesfor additional schemes, including co-operating with other governmentalauthorities.

Emhidro will collaborate with otheragencies on water resource studies,investment and advisory services aswell as specific local developments.

The greenlight to build Chihuido Iwas given in the middle of last year bythe province of Neuquen. While theplant is to generate 1800GWh of elec-tricity per year, the provincialGovernment also stressed the floodmanagement benefits that should alsocome with the project.

Five tenders have been submittedto build the project on the riverNeuquen, not far from the confluencewith the river Agrio.

Emhidro todevelopArgentineprojects

WORLD NEWS

WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JUNE 2009 5

In BriefTHE EAST JAVAprovincial administrationin Indonesia is planning todevelop micro hydroelec-tric power plants withcapacity of less than500kWh. The project isbeing developed to helpthousands of people inrural areas meet their dailypower needs.

THE FIRST UNITS OFthe 4.2GW Laxiwa plant,in China, have startedoperations and are supply-ing electricity to the grid.Two of the plant's six unitshave been commissionedand the remainder arescheduled to be opera-tional by the end of 2010.

THE SOUTH AustralianGovernment has awardeda lease to Wave EnergyRider Ltd to develop itsWave Energy Convertertechnology in a pilot plantoff Elliston on the EyrePeninsula. The pilotproject – which willinvolve an initial invest-ment of $5M – will belocated 800m off-shore ata depth of 30m on alimestone sea bed.

THE KOPS II PUMPEDstorage plant in Austriahas been inaugurated bythe developer VorarlbergerIllwerke AG. The 450MW(3 x 150MW) under-ground plant is locatednear the Ill river inMontafon Valley in westAustria, in the province ofVorarlberg. The facility isoperating with separatepumps and Pelton turbinesinstead of reversible pumpturbines. The designenables both turbines andpumps to be operated atthe same time in “shorthydraulic circuits”.

Construction starts at La RomaineHYDRO-QUEBEC HAS OFFICIAL-

LY launched construction ofthe Romaine project following

the Canadian Government's accept-ance of the environmental plans forthe project as studied by the JointReview Panel.

The 1550MW Romaine complex isto have first units commissioned in fiveyears but construction work on the proj-ect, on the river Romaine in the Cote-Nord region of Quebec, is not due tobe completed until 2020.

La Romaine will comprise fourplants – Romaine 1-4 – and each willbe supplied by reservoirs, to generatea total of approximately 8TWh of elec-tricity per year.

The commissioning schedule for theplants is Romaine-2 in 2014, Romaine-

1 in 2016, Romaine-3 in 2017 andRomaine-4 in 2020.

The project budget is Can$6.5B(US$5.53B), and the peak of the longconstruction period is 2012-2016.

Representatives of the utility,provincial government and nativepeoples attended the officialgroundbreaking for the scheme,described as Canada's biggest con-struction project.

Last month the CanadianGovernment announced that it accept-ed the conclusions of the federal-provincial Joint Review Panel over theenvironmental assessment of thehydro power complex. The Panel hadconcluded that, subject to the imple-mentation of required mitigationmeasures, the construction and oper-

ation of the plant was unlikely tocause significant negative environ-mental impact.

However, a 20-year environmentalmonitoring programme will be under-taken following the completion of thescheme, at an estimated cost ofCan$200M (US$170M).

Launch of the construction on theproject was welcomed by theCanadian Hydropower Association(CHA), which said the country hasapproximately 163GW of technicalhydro power potential. It added thatthe potential is more than double thecapacity already installed.

Last month Hydro-Quebec reportedhigher net income in 2008 comparedto the previous year due to increasednet electricity exports and prices.

CHINA YANGTZE POWER (CYP)plans to acquire the balance ofgenerating units at the Three

Gorges plant that it doesn't own fromChina Three Gorges Project Corp.

Eight of the plant's 26 units arealready owned by CYP, and it said itplanned to buy the other 700MW unitsfor an estimated RMB 107.5B(US$15.75B).

In total, the company would acquirethe balance of 12.6GW of installedcapacity over units 9-26 in the plant.

The first unit at Three Gorges wentinto operation in 2003. There are 14units on the left bank powerhouse,which were the first to be installed,over 2003-5, and there are 12 units onthe right bank powerhouse, taking thetotal installed capacity of the plant to18.2GW.

Velcan rethink on Brazil afterGovt shift on small hydro

VELCAN ENERGY HASannounced a rethink on itssmall hydro strategy in Brazil fol-

lowing the Government's ruling thatpreference is to be given in procure-ment to local bidders.

The company said in a statementthat it has been 'forced to reassess'its development plan.

On 12 May, the Brazilian Parliamentapproved legislation to give local firmspriority in bids for hydro concessionsfor capacities of 1MW-50MW, saidVelcan. It added that although the lawremains to be ratified by the Presidentthe company is undertaking a reviewof its plans.

At present, Velcan is building ahydro plant in Brazil with an installedcapacity of 15MW. Upon releasing itsannual results for 2008, also on 12

May, Velcan has confirmed its strate-gic plan to strengthen its project port-folio in Brazil.

The company recently agreedinvolvement in two other hydro projectsin the state of Goias, Brazil. The plantswould have capacities of 64MW and25MW-30MW, respectively, and adevelopment deal was struck last yearwith the state electricity company tohave the plants operational by 2013.

In total, combined with other earlierconcerns in the country, the compa-ny's hydro portfolio would be up toapproximately 180MW.

Just over six months ago Velcansaid it would shift the focus of its port-folio development even more to smallhydro from the activities that alsoincluded biomass projects, in Braziland India.

CYP in ThreeGorges deal

AMEMORANDUM OFUnderstanding (MoU) to inves-tigate the feasibility of a com-

bined hydro plant and aluminiumsmelter has been signed betweenNorsk Hydro and the Governmentof Angola.

Efforts are now underway on thefact-finding stage of the projectinvestigation, said the Norwegianindustrial group.

The MoU was signed by NorskHydro's head of strategy and busi-ness development, Arvid Moss, theAngolan Minister of Energy, EmanuelaVieira Lopes, and the Deputy Minister

of Industry, Kiala Gabriel.Norsk Hydro said that the deal fol-

lows several years of discussionwith the Angolan Government todevelop the combined hydro power-smelter concept. It would representa long-term opportunity for the com-pany, it added.

The strategic move comes despitethe global economic downturn andweakening in demand for aluminium.

On its existing hydro power port-folio, the company said in its firstquar ter results that it founddamage to par t of the 160MWSuldal I plant at Roldal-Suldal during

a maintenance shutdown in March.The plant will be out of action for atleast six months.

Suldal I normally generates 1TWhper year and the shutdown will have anotable effect on the company's hydropower output this year. This is com-pounded by the year having startedwith water storage and the snowpacklevels not only lower than average but'considerably' less than the same peri-ods over the last two years.

The company added that hydropower generation and financialresults were expected to be down inQ2 compared to previous quarters.

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WORLD NEWS


South Korea completesUldolmok tidal plantSOUTH KOREA HAS COMPLETED

construction of the tidal powerplant at Uldolmok, with the

installed capacity to be incrementallyincreased over the next four years.

Starting with 1MW of capacity theplant will be increased in size to 90MWby 2013. Construction of the Uldolmokplant began in 2005.

While the plant, located in the Jindoregion, is a milestone for the countryit is much smaller than the tidalscheme at Sihwa, which is currentlybeing built. The Sihwa plant will havean installed capacity of 254MW.

Uldolmok is also a landmark projectfor South Korea as it used domestictechnology, said the Ministry of Land,Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM).The Sihwa projects draws upon bothdomestic and international technology.

State-owned Korea WaterResources Corp (KWRC) is the devel-

THE LAKE LENEXA DAM ANDSpillway project in Kansas City, US,has been awarded the US Society

of Dams (USSD) 2009 Excellence in theConstructed Project Award.

The city of Lenexa, a suburban com-munity in the Kansas City metropoli-tan area, owns the lake andassociated park area and conceivedthe 'Rain to Recreation' programmethat includes the dam and spillwayproject. Black & Veatch providedstudy, public outreach, design andconstruction management services.

The Lake Lenexa Rain toRecreation approach transformsstormwater into a community asset.The city built a spillway and dam tocreate a 14ha lake within nearly142ha of parkland for fishing, natureeducation and non-motorized boating.The new facilities also feature wet-lands, trails, docks, a boat ramp,picnic areas and boardwalks.

Design of the dam was inspired bynature's hydrologic cycle and thestructure was built using 6117m3 ofsteel-reinforced concrete with sloping

curves and other architecturallyappealing features. The 244m long,15m high dam holds stormwater in a863,408m3 lake.

The US$23M lake, dam and spill-way, and park project benefits Lenexaand other Johnson County residents.The project not only provides essentialflood control but also improved waterquality through construction of wet-lands; natural stream preservation andrestoration; stormwater managementthrough incorporation of porous pave-ment and rain gardens; and recreationand education opportunities.

Community involvement was essen-tial to the project's success, and publicinput was strongly encouraged. Theproject team was responsive to otherneeds as well. When it was discoveredthat vital habitat for the protectedRedbelly Snake existed along the

reservoir stream, plans were modifiedto minimize construction impacts onthe habitat area.

The USSD 2009 Excellence in theConstructed Project Award recognizesthe significant contributions made tothe dam community and to societythrough the construction, remediationor removal of a dam or waterresources structure. The award honorsindividuals or team of professionalswho meet the challenges of thenation's aging infrastructure in an eraof limited financial resources andincreasing environmental awareness.

The Rain to Recreation Program andLake Lenexa project previouslyreceived a Crown Communities awardfrom American City & County magazinein 2006 and the Gold Metal forMunicipal Excellence for the NationalLeague of Cities in 2007.

oper of the Sihwa project, which islocated at Sihwa lake on Inchon Bay.The main engineering contract is withDaewoo and Andritz is supplying theturbine and generator equipment. TheSihwa plant is to generate 543GWh ofelectricity per year.

In late 2006, Voith Hydro (then VoithSiemens Hydro) also became active intidal developments in South Korea withplans for a joint venture agreed withKorea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co,Posco, Renetex and the provincial gov-ernment of Jeonnan. The JV wassigned two years ago and has beenlooking at construction of a 600MWplant in Wando province.

Separately, Korean Midland PowerCo and UK firm Lunar Energy are exam-ining construction of a 300MW tidalscheme at Wando Hoenggan WaterWay. The technology would be suppliedby Rotech Engineering and Hyundai.

Pumped storage plans for SSEUK-BASED ENERGY company Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) hasannounced it will submit an application to Scottish Ministers to develop a60MW pumped storage scheme alongside its 152MW Sloy hydroelectricpower station, near Loch Lomond.In an average year, Sloy produces around 120GWh of electricity and,according to SSE, converting it to a pumped storage facility will allow it toproduce an additional 100GWh to help meet peak demand.The project is expected to require an investment of over £30m (US$48M).SSE has also indicated it is exploring whether other potential sites couldbe suitable for the development of new pumped storage schemes.

Lake Lenexa wins USSD award


DIARY

Let IWP&DC’s readers know about your forthcoming conferences and events.For publication in a future issue, send your diary dates to: Carrieann Davies, IWP&DC, Progressive Media Markets Ltd, Progressive House,2 Maidstone Road, Foots Cray, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 5HZ, UK. Alternatively, email: [email protected], or fax:+44 208 269 7804

DIARY OF EVENTS

July

20-22 JulyConference on High Strength Steelsfor Hydropower Plants.Takasaki, Japan

CONTACT: Prof. Dr. KohsukeHorikawa, The Committee forHSS Conference, Suite 801,Sannoh 2-6-2, Ohta-Ku, Tokyo,Japan 143-0023.Tel: +81 3 3774 [email protected].

27-30 JulyWaterpower XVISpokane, Washington, US

CONTACT: PennWell HydroGroup, 410 Archibald Street,Kansas City, MO 64111, US.Tel: +1 816 931 1311.www.waterpowerconference.com.

28-29 JulyHydropower Africa 2009Johannesburg, South Africa

CONTACT: Spintelligent (Pty)Ltd, PO Box 321, Steenberg 7947South Africa.Tel: +27 21 700 3500.www.esi-africa.com/hpa

August

10-14 AugustInternational Association ofHydraulic Engineering & Research33rd Biennial CongressVancouver, BC, Canada

CONTACT: Stacey Ann P.Gardiner, CMP, CongressManager, ASCE WorldHeadquarters, 1801 AlexanderBell Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191-4400, [email protected]

16-18 August34th Conference on Our World inConcrete and StructuresSingapore

CONTACT: ConferenceSecretariat, CI-Premier Pte Ltd,150 Orchard Road, #07-14,Orchard Plaza, Singapore 238841.Email: [email protected].

September

27 September – 1 OctoberDam Safety 2009Florida, USA

CONTACT: Association of StateDam Safety Officials (ASDSO),450 Old Vine Street, Lexington KY

40507, US.Tel: +1 859 257 5140Email: [email protected]

October26-28 OctoberHydro 2009

Lyon, France

CONTACT: Aqua-MediaInternational Ltd, 123 WestmeadRoad, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 4JHTel: +44 20 8643 5133.Fax: +44 20 8643 [email protected].

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NORTH AMERICA

CRACKING UPThe 224MW Middle Fork hydro project was completed in 1967.Part of the project consists of the Middle Fork powerhouse and asso-ciated facilities including Hell Hole dam and reservoir, two diver-sion dams and shafts, a tunnel, surge shaft and penstock.

Two incidents spanning over 20 years led to the need for the refur-bishment project. In 1975 major rock falls caused unusual tunnel headloss. Consequently the 17km long Middle Fork tunnel was drained,repairs were carried out and the system put back on line in 1976.

Although unknown at the time, the 183m deep surge shaft had lon-gitudinal cracks in the original unreinforced concrete liner. This, com-bined with the effect of a major storm, resulted in a landslide whichfilled the Middle Fork interbay with sediment. On 1 January 1997the turbine/generator units in the powerhouse became inoperable.

The generating units themselves were not significantly damaged by

IN 2007 an innovative refurbishment project was completed atthe 122MW Middle Fork hydro power project, on the Americanriver in California, US. Rehabilitation of the cracked concretelining on the 3m diameter surge shaft was carried out under water.

This was quite an accomplishment and is thought to be the first timethat such work has been undertaken in the US. Furthermore, it wasalso completed under budget and ahead of schedule.

Key to the success of this project was the effective collaborationbetween all members of the project team. These were:

• Black & Veatch (B&V) - project designer.• Kiewit Pacific Company - project constructor.• Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) - project financier and

power purchaser.• Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) - project owner.

Good teamwork was thekey to a successfulrefurbishment project on acracked surge shaft liner atMiddle Fork hydro projectin the US. Black & Veatchwere one of the projectpartners who helpedundertake the work withoutdewatering the surge shaftand tunnel

Innovation under water

Left: Surge tank with liner support in place. Photo by Todd Quam/Digital Sky; Right: Preparation of two liner segments being joined by a bolted coupling system

E-Z lift jacking system


NORTH AMERICA

the flood, since the stoplog gates were closed before the flood peak.However, sediment deposition in the afterbays of the Middle Forkpowerhouse and the downstream Ralston powerhouse resulted in anextended shutdown. This enabled the removal of sediment using largeskip and clamshell equipped cranes under emergency conditions.

Since the Middle Fork project powerhouses are basically in series,most project generation was shut down for well over a month.However, due to the time of year with relatively low power valuesand a dry period following the flood, impacts to generation wereminimised. Several million dollars were spent in emergency workand later planned sediment removal projects.

As part of FERC’s dam safety programme, the regulatory bodyrequired that the project owner’s FERC-authorised dam safety con-sultant address these issues, specifically as the tunnel and surge shaftwere part of the outlet works for Hell Hole dam and reservoir.

The consultant recommended that studies be performed to identi-fy the issues and ultimately fix the problem within a certain timetable.PG&E concurrently was performing the necessary studies. FERCstayed intimately involved through the study phase, job planning andconstruction. As part of the FERC licence conditions for operatingand maintaining the Middle Fork project, FERC was the ultimateauthority for granting authorisation to proceed with construction ofthe project. It also had to ensure that all the necessary engineering,safety and environmental work had been performed, and that theappropriate resource agency approvals had been obtained.

FERC did not restrict operations during this period, though mea-sures were taken to limit sediment production from the tunnel bylimiting the maximum flow, and to decrease pressure fluctuationswithin the tunnel by limiting ramping rates.

It proved to be a lengthy process trying to identify and fully under-stand all of the issues, including tunnel sediment production, slopestability and whether the hillside leakage was even related to thetunnel or surge shaft.

It also took several years to fully develop a programme to analysethe groundwater patterns and slope stabilities, and to assess the con-dition of the tunnel through state-of-the-art ROV underwater inspec-tion. Due to the size and unique nature of the problem, expertconsultants were retained to review the study and design process.Testing of multiple design solutions, changing to a design-build typeof engineer/contractor arrangement mid-stream to address designand constructibility issues, and extensive pre-construction testing ofdesign solutions also required time to implement.

The go ahead to proceed with the refurbishment work wasreceived in January 2007, almost ten years after the second incident.

BEST OPTIONS

The primary purpose of refurbishing the surge shaft was to controlleakage; lowering groundwater in the adjacent hillside to pre-pro-ject elevations. In addition it was also necessary to stabilise the exist-ing cracked lining to prevent concrete debris from falling into thetunnel and causing damage to the downstream turbines.

The option of dewatering the Middle Fork tunnel to carry outrepairs was considered to be too risky. The actual dewatering processcould cause further tunnel deterioration and increase the possibili-ty of costly repairs. So PCWA and PG&E investigated a way of seal-ing leakage in the surge shaft that could be carried out under water.

Several options to mitigate or reduce the groundwater level in thehillside were investigated, and included extending a concrete back-filled shaft steel liner from the surface down to the competent ShooFly geological complex. This proved to be the preferred alternativeas the others were likely to be impractical without dewatering theshaft, unlikely to perform adequately, or entailed considerable risk.

Since the 185m deep surge shaft is normally full of at least 152mof water, and only the bottom 32m of shaft lies within competentrock, a 166m long steel liner would provide approximately 15m ofinterface between the steel liner and the surrounding competent rock.This interface was used for bottom annulus seal and support of theliner. The steel liner would offer various advantages such as: carry-ing out installation without dewatering the shaft; providing animpermeable barrier - blocking flow through the weak and perme-able Mehrten Formation in the geological profile of the site; stabil-ising the existing cracked concrete lining; correlating the constructionschedule with the scheduled outage planned for rehabilitation of the gen-erators at the Ralston powerhouse, which is also part of the Middle ForkAmerican river hydro scheme.

DESIGN FEATURES

Features of the final design for the surge shaft liner system includeda 2.4m diameter, 168m tall steel liner which was installed within the3m diameter shaft. The steel liner segments were shop-fabricatedwith stiffening rings and other appurtenances.

The 0.3m wide annular space between the new and existing lining

Below left: Flare section (transition from surge shaft to tank floor), shown before the concrete placement sacrificial liner segment 10 which supports theassembled liner during its installation was removed after load transfer was confirmed; Right: Water treatment facilities for ground and surface water thatcould potentially be contaminated by the liner concrete backfield placement


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was backfilled with tremie concrete for the full height of the steelliner, thereby forming a barrier to water entering the existing crackedconcrete lining. A multi-faceted instrumentation system was installedon the liner assembly to monitor movements and stresses through-out the liner system and during backfill operations.

There are several components of the project design which the pro-ject team are particularly proud of. These include:

• The mechanism for holding and lowering 18m sections of the steelshaft lining. This worked as intended, allowing the steel liner sec-tions to be coupled and sealed, and set to precise elevation. Sincethis mechanism bridged over the surge tank, construction wasstarted while the powerhouse was still operating, saving a seasonof construction time.

• The use of packers (inflatable doughnut-shaped rubber bladdersdeveloped for off-shore oil platforms). These were used to seal theannulus at the bottom of the new steel liner and prevented the ini-tial concrete backfill placements from leaking down into the shaftand tunnel, causing a serious water contamination event.

• The use of mechanical connections on the steel liner segmentsinstead of field welding saved a lot of construction time andallowed the use of better shop-applied corrosion protection.Precision survey of the shaft using sonar, ROVs, and convention-al survey allowed the shaft liner and rubber seals to be designedto fit into the irregular shaft shape without incident. In addition,all major components of the liner were tested in full scale mock-up to ensure any difficulties were discovered and corrected beforefinal installation. As a result, the entire shaft liner installation oper-ation was completed without incident.

In hindsight was there anything in the design, construction or plan-ning processes that the project partners think could have been donedifferently or more effectively? James Richter, senior structural engi-neer at Black & Veatch says: ‘While some minor components of theproject, such as using longer segments of steel liner to reduce thenumber of couplings could be discussed, the important outcome ofthe project is that the strong verification testing programme for thedesign and construction methods prevented there being any majorincidents or issues that could be discussed here.

“It was recognised that a strong verification testing programmewas needed to prove designs and construction methods. Valuableinformation was gained from such testing and was used to modifydesigns and construction methods and, in some cases, change theapproach to accomplishing an element of the project.’

The best way to reduce the shaft leakage and to stabilise thecracked lining was to complete the installation of the new steel shaftlining. Once this was done, shaft leakage was significantly reduced.The cracked original lining was no longer a concern as the new steelshaft lining, with its tremie placed concrete backfill, stabilised theexisting cracked concrete lining. Consequently the project goal ofsignificantly reducing leakage from the Middle Fork surge shaft,thereby reducing the possibility of landsides on adjacent hillsides,had been achieved. Evaluation of piezometer readings taken beforeand after installation of the new steel liner in the surge shaft showeda significant reduction in groundwater levels and leakage from thesurge shaft - over 75% reduction: 500 gpm to less than 125 gpm.

‘It was a very challenging project both to design and construct,’says Richter. ‘Working as a team as opposed to a group of advisorieswith different goals added a great deal of satisfaction to all partieswhen the project was completed with all goals met, under costbudget and within schedule constraints.’

Richter believes that credit for the great team work exhibited onthe project has to be placed with PCWA and PG&E. They recog-nised that this project required an ‘alliance’ type of construction con-tract, and a degree of risk sharing by the project owners andfinanciers to help minimise disputes and keep everyone focused onthe project success. Furthermore, weekly conference calls where allteam members were asked what issues needed input from the teamprovided valuable communication and kept everyone focused.

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

All of the project team would agree that it was a very daunting taskto take on such a unique project that did not have a previous modelto follow. The technical challenge of successfully undertaking suchrepair work under water was a great accomplishment for allinvolved. The project team would confidently recommend that thedesign and installation methods be considered where applicable forother surge shaft refurbishment.

James Richter, senior structural engineer for hydrostructures, Black & Veatch Corporation, Kansas City,

Missouri; Andrew Yu, senior civil engineer, Pacific Gas &Electric Utility, San Francisco, California; Robert

McManus, senior geotechnical engineer, Pacific Gas &Electric Utility, San Francisco, California; Jon Mattson,hydro engineer, Placer County Water Agency, Foresthill,

California; and Steve Nerby, project manager, KiewitPacific Company, California.

IWP& DC

Construction considerationsThe difficulties caused by the onset of winter weather and snow were a majorreason to complete the job as reasonably quickly as possible. Ordinarily,power production would also be a concern. However, the single 88MW unit atthe next powerhouse downstream was undergoing replacement of thegenerator stator winding, which was not completed for an additional threemonths. Significant milestones in the construction schedule are listed below.

• 8 January 2007 Notice to Proceed was issued by FERC.

• 2 October 2007 Middle Fork powerhouse outage began and providedunrestricted access to the surge shaft and tank.

• 3 October 2007 By this date Kiewit Pacific had completed accessroad improvements and site preparation work,fabrication and delivery of all components required toinstall the new steel liner; erected the liner supportstructure; conducted trial runs for handling linersegments; put all components of the constructionplant in place and cleaned the surge shaft walls.

• 15 October 2007 Liner assembly in the shaft began.

• 2 November 2007 Concrete backfill placement began.

• 21 December 2007 All remaining work in the surge shaft and tank wascompleted before the end of the planned outage.

Black & Veatch – key facts• Black & Veatch is a global engineering, consulting and construction company

specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications,management consulting, federal and environmental markets.

• With $3.2B in revenue, the employee-owned company has approximately9600 professionals and more than 100 offices worldwide.

• It has completed projects in more than 100 countries on six continents.

• Hydropower and Hydraulic Structures is a business line within the company’sglobal water business. Local project teams work with global water andwastewater technology experts to address site-specific challenges through abroad range of consulting, study, planning, design, design-build/EPC, andconstruction management services.

• The company offers engineering, technology, consulting, and constructionsolutions that span the life cycle of projects in the power generation, powerdelivery, and hydrocarbon process industries.

• Black & Veatch has been providing services to the hydropower industry since1916. In 1995, Black & Veatch merged with UK-based Binnie & Partners,adding more than a century of hydro power, dams, tunnels, flood mitigation,and related hydro engineering experience and enhancing Black & Veatch’shydro power and hydraulic structures capabilities worldwide.

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sion was made to clean out and use this feature as the trench. Severallarge caves and numerous other solution features of varying sizeintercepted the trench at right angles.

Figure 3 shows a view of the solution channel/cutoff trench justupstream of its tie-in to Monolith 37. Note the large caves in thetrench face. The man standing in the trench bottom gives an ideaof the size of the openings.

Obtaining compaction of impervious fill against the side walls andplugging intercepting solution features was not considered impor-tant, as long as a 3m width of compacted material in the centre of

WOLF CREEK DAM is located on the Cumberlandriver in Kentucky, US. It is operated and maintainedby the Nashville District of the US Army Corps ofEngineers, providing flood control, power, recreation,

water supply and water quality benefits for the Cumberland Riversystem. Lake Cumberland, impounded by the dam, is the ninthlargest reservoir in the US and the Corps’ largest reservoir east ofthe Mississippi river (see Figure 1).

Construction at Wolf Creek began in 1941 and was completed in1950. The 1748m long dam is a combination earthfill and concretegravity section. However, the original design and construction tech-niques of the 1930s and 1940s were inadequate to control seepagebeneath the dam. Design considerations of the day did not fullyaccount for the impact of the underlying geological karst featureson the dam’s performance. The problematic formations beneath thedam, which have been pertinent to its seepage problems, are theCatheys Formation and overlying Leipers Formation. Both are hard,thin to massive bedded, argillaceous limestone interbedded with thin,well cemented, calcareous shale.

Furthermore, during construction the alluvium was left in placeunder the majority of the embankment and did not allow designers theopportunity to inspect the condition of the rock. Apart from the cutofftrench, no foundation treatment occurred beneath the embankment.

The design depended on a narrow, steep-sided cutoff trench witha single line grout curtain to block seepage in the foundation. Thecutoff trench was designed to be under the upstream face of theembankment and parallel to the dam axis, except at its left terminuswhere it turned and tied into the last concrete monolith number 37.It was designed to be 3m wide at the base with steep 1V on 1-1/2Hside slopes. A schematic of the cutoff trench is shown in Figure 2.

Early during construction of the trench a solution channel wasintercepted running along the planned trench alignment. The deci-

A new concrete cutoff wall at the Wolf Creek Dam in the US has been described asa milestone in barrier wall construction. Michael F Zoccola and Stefano Valagussagive an insight into why this ambitious rehabilitation project was required, andhow it will remedy long term seepage problems

Milestone constructionat Wolf Creek dam

Figure 2: Location of cutoff trench in relation to embankment and concrete

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the trench was achieved. The sidewalls of the trench were thereforeleft steep, irregularly shaped, and with overhangs that preventedtight contact and good compaction between the fill and rock.Placement and compaction was often by hand in solution featuresand under rock overhangs.

As water moving through the rock intercepts the trench, it is likelyto have moved along the poorly compacted contact between the filland rock, crossing the trench at weak spots. Bridging of the embank-ment across the narrow, steep sided trench means that cracking andhydro-fracturing of the fill became a possibility.

The trench stepped down from the right abutment to its tie-in atmonolith 37 in several high vertical steps or benches. These arepotential locations of differential settlement in the trench fill thatcould cause cracking. Typically, these steps also coincided with solu-tion features crossing the trench. Thus, concentrated flow in solu-tion features may occur at cracks in the trench fill which provide anavenue for seepage. As there are no filters, it is possible that trenchmaterial has been piped into open features.

DISTRESSING SIGNS

Wolf Creek Dam appeared to function normally, without any visi-ble signs of distress, until 1967. This period was prior to the currentdam safety programme, before any performance monitoring instru-mentation was installed in the dam.

The earliest anomalies were observed in 1962 in the form of wetareas near the downstream toe towards the right abutment. Then in1967 a small sinkhole was found near the embankment toe in thegeneral vicinity of the wet areas. This was followed two years laterby two more sinkholes near the downstream toe, above the switch-yard in the wraparound area.

Immediately following discovery of the first sinkhole, the Districtembarked on an emergency exploration, instrumentation and grout-ing programme. This lasted from 1968-70 and resulted in about8212m3 of grout solids being placed in the rock foundation, withthe majority in the highly solutioned rock in the wraparound area.This work was generally recognised as saving the dam.

The investigations indicated that seepage was occurring throughand/or under the cutoff trench and through the system of solutionfeatures. The seepage consisted of piping material filling these fea-tures, and subsequently overlying embankment material that col-lapsed into the voids. Eventually this progression of piping andcollapse worked its way to the surface resulting in the sinkholes. Dyetests showed that the system of solution features went through thesinkhole and muddy flow areas.

A concrete cutoff wall was needed for the long term reliability ofthe dam. Two walls were recommended and subsequently installed.One was located downstream between the switchyard and river toprotect the switchyard foundation from the surging and erodingaction during power generation. The second was located along thecrest of the embankment. A board of consultants recommended thatthe second wall should extend the full length of the embankmentinto the right abutment, extending to a depth of at least 1.5m belowthe Catheys–Leipers contact.

The District undertook a pre-installation exploration and groutingprogramme from 1970-75 along the alignment of the embankmentcutoff wall consisting of borings on 0.76m centres. This programmeserved two purposes. It grouted openings along the wall alignmentto prevent potential problems with the wall installation. It also pro-vided information on the condition of the rock that the District coulduse to select the founding depths and lateral extent of the cutoff wall.

Based on these explorations, the bottom of the wall varied in itstermination depth. In contrast to the original recommendation, thewall was only carried below the Catheys–Leipers contact at twolocations, and the majority of the wall terminated in the upperLeipers formation. Laterally the wall tied into the end of concretemonolith 37 and was carried about two-thirds of the distancetowards the right abutment.

These decisions have been mischaracterised at times as being costdriven, but were based on sound technical grounds at the time.Borings on 0.76m centres along the wall alignment provided awealth of information upon which the wall extent was based. Thedesigners held the view that grouting would seal the relatively minoropenings in the rock indicated in the pre-installation exploratoryholes below the selected founding depths and beyond the ends of thewall. A profile showing the limits of the wall is shown in Figure 4.

In retrospect, the decisions made concerning wall depth and lengthcontributes to the reoccurrence of problems seen today. The origi-nal wall has worked well in cutting off features it intercepted but itsimply did not go deep enough, or extend laterally far enough, tointercept all the significant features. Subsurface investigations andother indicators of distress confirm features still exist that have notbeen cut off. Over time, seepage has found these new paths underand around the ends of the wall and is once again increasing.

Since completion of the wall in 1979, the District has been mon-itoring various indicators of performance. A variety of instrumen-tation has been installed over the years. These consist of piezometers,displacement monuments, uplift cells, weirs, inclinometers, andalignment plugs. In addition, observations of the physical manifes-tations of the foundation seepage problems in the embankment anddownstream areas are done routinely. Project personnel inspect theembankment and downstream areas daily for signs of problems. Abrief discussion of some of the performance indicators follows.

Wet areas downstream of the damAfter the grouting programme and wall installation, most of the wetareas disappeared. However, over time, persistent wet areas rede-veloped primarily near the right end of the dam along the down-stream toe. Since 1990 the extent of the wet areas has steadilyincreased reaching the maximum extent in March 2004 after a twoand a half year interval of sustained high lake levels.

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Figure 3: View of solution channel/cutoff trench; Figure 4: Profile of cutoffwall looking upstream showing depth and lateral extent

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Piezometric levelsBecause of its history, Wolf Creek dam is highly instrumented withpiezometers. Since 1968 over 300 have been installed. Currently 150piezometers are monitored monthly and more frequently as condi-tions dictate. A select group of 25 in critical locations are read weekly.

Water levels in piezometers immediately upstream of the wall,with screened intervals set in the rock foundation, are equal to andreact with the lake level. These have shown the lack of head lossacross the cutoff trench and its ineffectiveness as a seepage barrier.

Downstream of the wall it was expected foundation pressureswould drop to a small percentage of head water levels. However,immediately after installation only a slight reduction occurred andlevels remained higher than anticipated. It was concluded the pres-sures would dissipate over time. However, this has not occurred andin fact several critically located piezometers have risen, with twopiezometers in the wraparound section reflecting a 4m rise since1984. Two embankment piezometers downstream of the wall have

high levels and respond to headwater changes. Additionally, fivepiezometers generally located downstream of the embankment showthat flow amounts are slight – approaching a trickle but illustratethe increasing seepage.

Settlement monumentsSubsidence of the embankment crest as measured by surface mon-umentation is occurring in the wraparound area; represented by bothcontinuing settlement as well as an increase in the rate.

Embankment InvestigationIn 2002 and 2003, 12 borings were drilled in the embankment usingthe resonant sonic drilling method. These holes were at various loca-tions downstream of the wall. Six of the borings encountered softzones within the embankment. One hole, located 1.2m downstreamof the wall, encountered 2.1m of very soft, saturated clay at the topof rock. Additionally, two other borings over 30m downstream ofthe wall in the wraparound section also encountered soft materialat the top of rock.

Temperature surveyIn September 2004, a temperature survey of the screened interval ofproject piezometers was performed. Two cold spots identified in thesurvey were attributed to foundation seepage. Cold Spot 1 was pre-sent at the interface between the embankment and concrete, rein-forcing the suspicion that seepage is occurring beneath the masonrysection. About 37m downstream of this is Cold Spot 2, which reg-istered cold temperatures in two piezometers with their tips set atdifferent elevations. Overall, the temperature survey confirmed theseepage of cooler reservoir water past the wall and grout curtain.

PROPOSING A FIX

As instrumentation installed at the dam had demonstrated that seep-age was still a problem, the Nashville District conducted an exten-sive rehabilitation evaluation study. This concluded that the bestcourse of action to take to remedy the problem would be the con-struction of a new concrete barrier cutoff wall. This new wall willstart immediately upstream of the right concrete monoliths and runthe length of the embankment, into the right abutment, for about1280m (see figure 5). It will be constructed to a depth which isdeeper than the deepest sections of the original wall, and as muchas 23m deeper than the majority of the original wall.

The founding depth will be at least 7.6m into the Catheys forma-tion, well below the zone of solutioning. With a minimum 0.6mthickness, a depth extending up to 84m and a total surface area ofthe face of approximately 27,750m3, the Wolf Creek barrier wall isunlike any other in the world.

In an effort to reduce the risk associated to dam safety, and simul-taneously allow for further evaluation of the new barrier wall, theDistrict elected to proceed with the rehabilitation efforts in two phases.

The first phase began in September 2006 and was completed byAugust 2008. It involved the installation of a double line grout cur-tain on each side of the alignment of the new barrier wall. This phasesealed openings in the rock to both improve the short term reliabil-ity of the foundation, and reduce barrier wall construction problemsdue to slurry loss. It also provided foundation information used insetting the final wall limits.

In December 2007, during the execution of this foundation grout-ing, the District issued the solicitation for phase II of the foundationremediation for the wall. The ‘best value’ request for proposal (RFP)method was used for procuring the contractor for this work.

Extensive data from historical records and soil information,together with guide specifications for the cutoff wall construction,were the base for the preparation of the RFP that was divided intoa technical and price proposal. Unlike a traditional low-bid pro-curement, selection was made considering the soundness of theapproach and experience of the firm, along with price.

The District awarded the barrier wall contract to Treviicos-Soletanche JV, a Treviicos led joint venture between Treviicos South,

Figure 5: Barrier wall outline; Figure 6: Schematic of PCEW and barrier wall;Figure 7: Barrier wall profile and sequence areas identification


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(the North America subsidiary of Trevi headquartered in Italy) andSoletanche Construction (a subsidiary of Soletanche-Bachy of France).The contract amount was US$341.4M over a four-year period.

Dam safety will be paramount throughout all the different phasesof construction. This approach resulted in a series of additional stepsin the construction process prior to installation of the barrier wall.The JV elected to perform a supplemental probing and grouting pro-gramme to detect and treat soft contact zones at the interfacebetween the embankment and rock foundation. This will allow saferinstallation of a second major dam safety inspired step; the installa-tion of a protective concrete embankment wall (PCEW) – designedto safeguard the embankment against the effect of the constructionactivities as depicted in Figure 6.

The PCEW will be seated into the top of rock, with a thickness of183cm and depths averaging 43m. Following completion of this, thebarrier wall installation will be a combination of secant piles andrectangular panels to depths of 84m and into the underlying rock.

All the major specialised equipment for the execution of the bar-rier wall is manufactured and customised for the particular require-ments of the project. The equipment manufacturing units of the JVpartners’ parent company, Soilmec (part of the Trevi Group) andSoletanche-Bachy itself, have been involved from the early stages ofthe project.

PROJECT UPDATE

The notice to proceed for the 48-month contract was given to theJV in October 2008. The mobilisation and preparatory works arealmost completed and the next phase of operations have started withthe execution of the supplemental probing and grouting programme,and completion of the foundation grouting.

The installation of the PCEW started in April 2009 and is antici-pated to continue for just over 14 months. Construction of the bar-rier wall is expected to start in July 2009 with completion scheduledfor the first half of 2012.

The authors are: Michael F. Zoccola, Chief, Civil DesignBranch, Nashville District, Corps of Engineers, Estes

Kefauver Federal Building, 801 Broadway Street,Nashville, TN 37203, US. Email:[email protected]

Stefano Valagussa, Vice President, Special Projects,Treviicos Corporation, 38 Third Avenue, 3rd Floor,

Charlestown, MA 02129, US. Email:[email protected]

IWP& DC

Dam featuresThe concrete portion of Wolf Creek dam consists of 37 gravity monoliths thatextend 547m across the old river channel. With the top of the dam atelevation 773, it has a maximum height of 79m above the founding level.The spillway section has ten 15m x 11m tainter gates and six 1.2m x 1.8mlow level sluice gates. To the right of the spillway section, the power intakesection has penstocks feeding six turbines rated at 45MW each in thepowerhouse downstream. Non-overflow sections on either end complete theconcrete portion of the dam.

The embankment section extends from the end of the concrete gravityportion 1200m across the valley to the right abutment. It has a maximumheight of 65m above the top of rock. The non-zoned embankment iscomposed of well-compacted, low plasticity clays, from the valley alluvium.Where the embankment and concrete sections tie together is a criticalsection that is referred to in this paper as the ‘wraparound’ section. Here theembankment wraps around the end concrete monolith number 37.

Above – Figure 8: East abutment site operations overview; Left – Figure 9:Hydromill during PCEW excavation; Bottom left – Figure 10: Hydromilloversized cutting wheels

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heads over 366m. Chacour developed numerous unique concepts tooptimise the structural design of such important pump-turbines atprojects including Rio Grande, Bath County, Raccoon Mountain andBad Creek, as well as the 700MW Grand Coulee Francis turbines. Hisdesigns were not only structurally sound but also advanced the tech-niques the industry used to design more functional units.

The finite element code provided a means to understand deflec-tions and how the unit would behave under load. Chacour led theindustry by designing turbine components such that they would pro-vide optimum performance in their deformed state. As an example,his design for spherical inlet valves for high head pump-turbines isbased on the deformed shape of the rotor. The stationary seat ringis machined to cancel the rotor’s deflected shape thus presenting aflat surface to the mating seal ring. In older designs much of the clos-ing energy actually went into bending the seal ring against thedeformed rotor seat. The new design reduced the closing effortrequired to achieve complete seal contact.

With component mechanical design well in-hand, Chacour turnedhis attention to the turbine/generator interaction. Powerful Francisand pump-turbines sometimes had surprising instabilities in theirbearing systems. These instabilities could not be predicted with thebearing analysis available at that time. To supplement linear staticand dynamic analysis in his Nathalie programme, he developed anew computer code for non-linear shafting system analysis. TheAnne programme utilised a unique finite difference solution to shaft-ing system dynamics. This was used by Chacour to analyse completeshafting systems including the non-linear bearing support in thedesign of new installations and to solve existing vibration problemsin units such as Helms and Raccoon Mountain.

Another operational challenge which accompanied ‘pushed’ pumpturbine technologies involved fluid inertia in penstock systems and itseffect on turbo machinery and powerhouse structures. Chacour stud-ied state-of-the art techniques for evaluating water hammer pressureassociated with time dependent flow through a network of penstockconduit. Using the powerful method of characteristics, he developedhis general purpose hydraulic transient programme, CORA.

This tool accurately models the reservoir-to-reservoir flow in andout of the interconnecting water passage segments, valves, surgetanks, pumps and turbines. He further customised the analyses topredict the associated transient reservoir elevations, distributed flow,surge tank capacity, pressure and speed rise, hydraulic thrust, wicketgate and valve torques and their associated fatigue damage. Thestatic and dynamic response of any or all of these parameters can beevaluated at any point within the modelled segments. This comput-er programme is used to avoid fluid resonant vibration and identi-fy unstable operating regimes at design stage. It has also been usedto diagnose cause and prove solutions for instabilities encounteredat several high head generating and pumping stations.

THREE DIMENSIONAL

In the late 1970s, Chacour recognised that the same solution tech-nique he developed for mechanical design was applicable to opti-

THE president and founder of the American HydroCorporation, Selim A Chacour, has been elected to the pres-tigious US National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Thehonour recognises a lifetime of engineering achievements

involving creative mechanical and hydraulic design, the developmentof advanced computational codes and the successful leadership oftwo US organisations involved in the design and manufacture ofhydraulic machinery.

The National Academy of Engineering is an independent, non-profitinstitution. Its members consist of the US’ premier engineers who areelected by peers for seminal contributions to engineering. NAE wasestablished in 1964 and election is considered among the highest pro-fessional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membershiphonours those who have made outstanding contributions to:• Engineering research, practice or education including, where

appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature.• Pioneering of new developing fields of technology.• Making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering.• Developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering

education.Selim A Chacour was elected to the academy on 6 February 2009for pioneering three-dimensional finite element computations inmechanical and hydraulic design, leadership in hydro turbineresearch and development, and business stewardship.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Chacour considers himself first and foremost a designer of hydraulicturbines. Working as a young engineer for Allis-Chalmers his natur-al abilities for artistic structural design and standard mechanicalanalysis served not only to create sound designs but also to highlightthe need to accurately calculate the stresses in these massive machines.His professional life from then on was dominated by a unique abili-ty to understand an engineering need and to develop advanced com-putational tools necessary to provide the engineering analysis.

In the late 1960s Chacour became aware of a new technique topredict structural behaviour. Rather than looking at an entire com-ponent, that component was subdivided and deflections were cal-culated for each finite element. He recognised the power of this newapproach, studied it, and by 1970 had personally developed a com-plete three-dimensional finite element code (Danuta). This static anddynamic structural analysis was so powerful that it is not only usedtoday in the hydro turbine industry, but was licensed by Allis-Chalmers in the 1970s to McDonnell-Douglas for aircraft analysisand to the Canadian nuclear power industry for analysis of nuclearpower plant components. The cubic sub-parametric element devel-oped by Chacour is so powerful that comparisons with commercialcodes today show that his finite element grid can have fewer ele-ments and yet provide more accurate results.

Chacour now had the tool he needed and throughout the 1970s hepioneered the use of the finite element method to design and analysehydro turbines. His design interest centred on the sophisticated pump-turbine. One pump-turbine can provide up to 500MW of power with

National honour forAmerican Hydro PresidentSelim Chacour has been elected into the US National Academy ofEngineering. To celebrate this honour, IWP&DC looks back at the careerof one of the US’ most successful designers of hydraulic turbines

AMERICAN HYDROIn 1986 the hydro turbine division of Allis-Chalmers was sold to theGerman firm, Voith. Chacour believed this would have marked theend of any significant hydro turbine design and manufacturing in theUS, and, as a result he founded American Hydro Corporation.

At his new firm, Chacour developed five axis milling codes tomachine blade shapes. He developed plate cutting and nesting codesto minimise plate usage and run flame and plasma cutters. He inte-grated manufacturing techniques with the hydraulic designs to pro-vide optimum hydraulic performance at minimum cost.

As a result of Chacour’s leadership, business sense, and technol-ogy, American Hydro has grown to be one of the leading firms inhydro turbine upgrades throughout North America. All manufac-turing of the turbine components (with some weighing well over 100tons) is done in York, Pennsylvania. Using Chacour’s integrateddesign and manufacturing system, the American Hydro RunnerDesign System (AHRDS), it is possible to take a new order, com-pletely design a new runner, and begin cutting the blades all in thesame day. Throughout the hydroelectric industry, deliveries aremonths instead of years, power increases for turbine upgrades are20-50% instead of 10%, and turbine price increases over the last 22years have not kept pace with the cost of living. The result is signif-icantly more energy from existing hydro facilities nationwide, withminimal ecological impact, and reduced energy costs.

Further details on American Hydro Corporation can befound at www.ahydro.com

mise hydraulic designs especially for the critical runner blade shapes.He developed the three-dimensional finite element flow analysis codeAnthony, helping to revolutionise the way runners were designedthroughout the hydro turbine industry.

Chacour realised that the finite element flow analysis would onlybe useful as a design tool if the programme input was automatic. Heaccomplished this by writing the Lilly programme that is an inter-active design programme to develop runner geometry. Combiningthe Lilly and Anthony codes, Chacour now had a system thatallowed a runner designer to optimise the blade shapes with imme-diate feedback on how the runner performed.

Chacour has developed hundreds of runner designs using thisapproach. Notable examples are the Bad Creek, Yards Creek, andTaum Sauk pump-turbines and the Aswan High Dam in Egypt,Hoover Dam and Smith Mountain Francis turbines.

This computerised design and analysis not only led to muchhigher performance designs but Chacour directed Allis-Chalmersinto a whole new concept for the hydraulic industry. Before 1980,any new runner was refined using physical model testing. Thiswas a tedious, expensive and crude means to develop high per-formance runners.

In 1981 Chacour directed that each new runner would be fullyoptimised through computer design. The accuracy of the computertools was such that Allis-Chalmers would guarantee performancefor a fully optimised runner that had never been model tested. Thisconcept was particularly important for the upgrade of existing hydroplants. It has resulted in much higher performance from the coun-try’s hydro stations.


IWP& DC

The latest issue of Dam Engineering is on its way to subscribers.This issue contains the following papers:

• Shape optimization of concrete arch dams for dynamic load using mesh design velocity by Jala Akbari andMohammed Taghi Ahmadi. The main contribution of this paper is an efficient shape optimization algorithmfor complex concrete arch dams based on shape sensitivity formulations for design dependent loads.The method has been successfully applied to an existing Iranian arch dam, and has enabled areduction of computational efforts when compared to classical methods.

• Mathematical representation of Londe method for rock stability analysis by A A Tabatabaei and A J Carrere. This paperrecalls the main principles of the method of analysis of dam abutments proposed by Londe in 1973, based on the limit equilibrium ofrock wedges determined by preferential surfaces of failure such as faults and joints. It proposes a methodology for a comprehensive implementation ofthe initial method on any type of software.

• Estimation of fracture parameters using experimental test results for nonlinear seismic analysis of Jahgin RCC gravity dam by Rouzbeh Berton, ArashMazloumi and Mohsen Ghaemian. In this study, statistical methods are used to improve the obtained results of compressive and direct tensiontests on cm cylindrical samples from Jahgin RCC dam site (the first major RCC dam in Iran) in order to evaluate compressive strength, tensilestrength, modulus of elasticity and fracture energy with different confidence degrees and test ages of specimens.

• Geostatistical approach for statistical description of uplift pressures by Marie Westberg. The possibility of using structural reliability analysis inconcrete dam design and assessment is investigated in Sweden. The first part of this article, published in Volume XIX Issue 4, the methodolo-gy of a geostatistical approach to simulate the uplift pressure was described, with the results described in detail in this paper.

Dam Engineering is an academic journal, published quarterly by International Water Power & Dam Construction. It contains refereedpapers on subjects related to all areas of dams and hydro power. At present there is no restriction on the length of submitted papers.

For information on submitting papers, or for more details about subscribing to Dam Engineering, contact: Tracey Honney,Content Manager, Dam Engineering, Progressive House, 2 Maidstone Road, Foots Cray, Sidcup, Kent DA14 5HZtel: +44 20 8269 7767 , fax: +44 208 269 7804, email: [email protected]

New Issue ofDam Engineering

NORTH AMERICA


NORTH AMERICA

“We have already conducted public meetings and site visits in thearea of these sites, and we anticipate performing environmental stud-ies at them as well,” Lissner says. “The information we get fromthese will be relevant to the filing of our licence applications for ourother sites through FERC’s traditional licensing process.”

Using a combination of traditional and integrated licensing process-es will enable FFP to address the environmental issues, as well as theeffects of the whole system. Lissner says: “We believe that this processis the most effective way for us to address the concerns of all of thestakeholders, wherever they are located geographically.”

FFP plans to file licence applications for its Mississippi river pro-jects by the end of 2010. It has also just completed a series of publicmeetings and site visits at the lead sites, and is working with the reg-ulatory agencies to determine what environmental tests need to bedone. These tests should be carried out next year. At the present timeFFP is working on deploying a turbine on a barge in the Mississippiriver to continue gathering operational data.

For more information contact Daniel Lissner, Free FlowPower Corporation. Email : [email protected]

US COMPANY Free Flow Power (FFP) is well on its wayto developing extensive hydrokinetic facilities in the US.FFP’s engineering and hydrology team began evaluatingthe hydrokinetic potential of US rivers in early 2007. After

studies of more than 80,000 possible sites the company decided tofocus on the Mississippi river for its initial projects.

The Mississippi river basin drains 40% of North America. It isthe largest available source of river energy in this region and hasbeen described as being top in terms of flows and volumes. Its impor-tance as a navigational resource has limited the development ofhydroelectric facilities in its lower reaches, preserving the opportu-nity for hydrokinetic development. FFP’s largest grouping of sitesthat share many of the same ecological characteristics are locatedon the Lower and Middle Mississippi river.

“Each site varies in terms of depth and size, but generally we aretargeting an installation of 6MW per mile, or 600 turbines, in areasthat are large enough to locate the turbines without interfering withnavigation or other uses of the river,” Lissner says. “We havedesigned our turbines to be small enough to deploy them in a vari-ety of arrays, such as vertically on a pylon, horizontally between twopylons, or suspended from the surface from barges.”

PREPARATION AND PLANNING

In 2008 FFP obtained 55 preliminary permits from the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for hydrokinetic projectsin seven states along the Mississippi river, as well as additional per-mits for projects on the Missouri and Ohio rivers. A FERC prelim-inary permit enables a company to study the characteristics of thesesites in preparation for filing a licence application, which must bedone within three years of the permit’s issuance. During this time,FFP will be gathering data about the sites, conducting outreach tostakeholders, and performing tests and studies that are necessary toprepare the application for a licence.

Currently FFP has seven ‘lead sites’ on the Lower Mississippi atwhich the company is using FERC’s integrated licensing process –the aim of which is to promote discussion and environmental stud-ies before a licence application is filed. These sites were designatedas lead sites because they have environmental characteristics that arerepresentative of the whole river system.

Free Flow Power is utilising untapped hydrokinetic energy on the Mississippi river in the US

Powering up the Mississippi

IWP& DC

Turbine developmentFFP has developed an integrated turbine generator system - the SmarTurbinegenerator - with a rim-driven generator, one moving part, and forward and aftshrouds to laminate and accelerate flow. This technology includesmicroprocessors to provide remote monitoring of turbine performance and tovary the generator load in various flow velocities to optimise turbineperformance. The rotor is designed to operate over a wide range of flowvelocities. A 1.4m diameter version of the SmarTurbine generator was testedat Alden Labs and is being field tested in various environments. A 3m diameterversion of the will be field tested in 2009. A 3m device generates 10kW inflows of 2.25m/sec, while a 1m device generates 10kW in flows of 3m/sec.

Key design features include: Low tip speed ratio to eliminate fish injury frommechanical strike; No high velocity regions to cause turbulent sheer stress;No small gaps that would cause grinding injury; Deployment below thenavigation channel, off the riverbed; Minimal onshore equipment;Hydrodynamic bearing system designed to resist wear from silt and sand,eliminating the need for chemical lubricants.

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Power generating solutions.Life needs energy. In many hydropower stations innovative technologyfrom Kuenz guarantees efficient operation. Hour by hour. Day by day.

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DESIGN • ANALYSIS • INSPECTIONS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS :: PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, US

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• Engineer of Record & Construction Manager •Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Dam—the largest RCC Dam Construction Project

currently underway in the U.S. (pictured above)


NORTH AMERICA

Exhibitor list – on show in SpokaneAlong with the companies included in the following show preview, IWP&DC will be exhibitingat Waterpower XV1 from 28-30 July 2009 in Spokane, US. Be sure to visit us at booth 4008

ACCUSONIC TECHNOLOGIES Booth 611

Accusonic supplies the hydro industry withmultiple-path, ultrasonic transit-time flowmeters. These are used for accurate hydroturbine unit flow measurement and effi-ciency monitoring. The company’s range offlow meters have been installed in morethan 1500 penstocks, low head hydrointakes, and inlet canals to provide unit andpower plant performance and environmen-tal information.

Accusonic’s AccuFlow and HydroFlowWindows-based software allows for easy flow

meter setup and configuration via notebookPC connection, and permits recording of flowand performance data that is easily down-loaded and archived using the software.Interfacing flexibility for SCADA and plantcontrol systems is enhanced with Modbus RS-232 and RS-485 interfaces.

The company’s flow measurements andhydro turbine performance test serviceshave been used by many hydro consultantsand project owners to evaluate turbine con-dition and performance, including before

and after unit rehabilitation performanceassessment. Significant projects includeinnovative high accuracy, 18-path unit flowmeasurements at the US Army Corps ofEngineers’ Carters dam powerhouse inGeorgia (5.5m diameter penstock) and atthe Three Gorges Project in China (12.4mdiameter penstock).

Accusonic’s other products include models7700, 7720, and 7510+ flow meter systems.

www.accusonic.com

ALDEN RESEARCH LABORATORIES Booth 99

Recent favourable economic conditions haverenewed interest in the development of low headhydroelectric projects adjacent to existing locksand dam facilities on navigable rivers within theUS. These lock facilities are typically operated bythe US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Twocommon concerns expressed by USACE inadding power houses to such facilities are:• The potential project effects on sediment

movement (particularly accretion) within thenavigation channels both upstream anddownstream of the lock and dam facility.

• The possible adverse effects on navigation inthe upstream and downstream lockapproaches.

Alden has been working with USACE on suchprojects. Generally, USACE requires physicalhydraulic model studies for the purpose ofdeveloping acceptable approach and tailraceflow conditions, to and from the proposedlocation of the powerhouse, that will haveminimal impact on sediment movement andnavigation. The model often provides the abil-ity to evaluate other potential project impactsincluding those related to fishery, other aquat-ic habitat, and recreational concerns.

In addition to addressing the above needsof USACE, modeling has also been used toassist the power generation developer at pro-posed locks and dam facilities. Design of lowhead hydroelectric projects, particularly thoseutilising horizontal bulb-type turbines,involves ensuring that the approach flow con-ditions to the powerhouse intake conform toturbine generator supplier’s guidelines. Theintegration of computational fluid dynamics(CFD) techniques with physical modeling hasbeen an effective tool to aid in the design of

approach channels and powerhouse intakes.Specifically, numerical modeling is a cost effec-tive tool to evaluate several approach channeldesign alternatives and to select the best alter-native to be incorporated into the physicalmodel, which then provides validation of thenumerical model and of the approach designwith a time-honoured method. Alden consid-ers its a key advantage having the ability touse both in tandem to provide the maximumvalue for minimum cost and project duration.

An example showing the use of physical andCFD modeling for both of these concerns is theSmithland Locks and Dam on the Ohio river,

currently under development by AmericanMunicipal Power. Alden performed physicalmodeling to address navigation concerns, aswell as hybrid physical and CFD modeling tooptimise the powerhouse approach geometry.Montgomery Watson Harza America is theowner’s engineering firm for the project.

www.aldenlab.com

Above: Close-up detail of Smithland Locks and Damstructure in the physical modelRight: Multiple frame photo showing USACE scaledbarge motion approaching the locks from down-stream. Dye traces are seen in red

1 • 603 • 448 •[email protected]

Vibrating Wire Piezometersfor Dam Monitoring

High accuracyISO 9001:2000 qualityExcellent long-term stabilityFrequency output allows long cable lengthRugged, reliable designs suited for adverse conditions

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NORTH AMERICA

ASSOCIATED UNDERWATER SERVICES (AUS) Booth 9004

AUS strives to creatediverless solutions forunderwater constructionneeds. Its productsinclude remotely operat-ed vehicles such as theSeaeye Falcon, the firstROV in its class to have adistributed intelligencecontrol system, while theGPS Lindquist trackingsystems have fully inte-grated high speedacoustic communication.Sonar systems suppliedby the company includethe 3000m gearedfan/cone sonar head dig-ital telemetry, which has been specificallydesigned to produce the highest resolutionscanning sonar images possible with 675kHz.

When diverless is not possible, AUS offersthe industry diving service support in areas

such as concrete placement, fish bypass sys-tems, underwater video and still photogra-phy, amongst others.

www.ausdiving.com

ASL AQFLOW Booth 105

ASL AQFlow specialises in flow measure-ments at low head, short intake hydro plants.The acoustic scintillation flow meter (ASFM)product line includes the:• ASFM Advantage – an accurate portable

system used for index testing and plantoptimisation.

• ASFM Monitor – a permanent system forcontinuous monitoring of flow conditions.

Recent successes with the ASFM involvedUnion Fenosa Generación of Spain, whichneeded to establish operational efficiency ofits Kaplan turbines at three plants on theRiver Miño in northwestern Spain – Velle,Frieira and Castrelo. Having reviewed allpresently available flow measurement meth-ods suitable for short intakes, Union Fenosaopted for the ASFM.

As all three plants had identical two-bayintakes, the portability of fully instrumentedASFM frames was of particular benefit: acomprehensive testing of one unit at each of

the three plants was completed successfullyin less than two weeks. Union FenosaGeneración is currently replacing runners atits most important units, and the resultsfrom the ASFM measurements are beingused in the technical specifications for thesenew runners.

Hydro Quebec has recently upgraded itsASFM from a 3x1 path system to a 4x10path system, and is now going to conductwork at the Beauharnois plant on the St.Lawrence river. Be sure to attend a technicalpaper given by Gilles Proulx of HydroQuebec titled Comparison of DischargeMeasurement by Current Meter andAcoustic Scintillation Methods at Rocher-de-Grand-Mère. It will be presented atBriefings, Session 4E, Planning & Analysisfor Better Projects, paper #074 onWednesday 29 July at 1:45pm.

www.aqflow.com

AMERICAN CAST IRON PIPECOMPANY

Booth 209

Each penstock has unique design require-ments, installation challenges and perfor-mance expectations. American ductile ironpipe (ADIP) offers 10-163cm diameter,cement-lined ductile iron pipe and fittings instandard pressure classes up to 350 psi or244m of head. According to the company,ADIP piping has outstanding flow charac-teristics, strength and durability, and gas-keted push-on or restrained joint options tofit the installation. It is well suited for small-er scale projects, especially in limited accessconstruction locations and flume replace-ments. A notable 1993 penstock installationin Hawaii – the Wailuku river project – used1.5m diameter ADIP piping.

For larger scale projects, American spiralweld pipe (ASWP) has been designed todeliver high volume capacity, quality andstrength in diameters up to 3.6m. This is aspiral-welded steel pipe offered in wall thick-nesses up to 2.5cm and yield strengths tohandle low to high pressure and headrequirements. It meets or exceeds the require-ments of ASCE Manual #79 or AWWAC200. For optimal flow, cement-mortar lin-ings up to 2.5cm thick are available. In addi-tion to gasketed joints, ASWP offers field- ,lap- and butt-welded joint designs. A notablepenstock replacement using 3.6m diameterASWP piping was completed in 2001 atVictoria Hydro in Michigan. US.

www.acipco.com

Victoria hydro penstock installation using2.9m lap-welded-joint American spiral-weldedsteel pipe with polyurethane outside coatingand various fabricated fittings and flangewelded outlets

Blue Power,Green Energy.Black & Veatch’s involvement inhydropower projects dates back to thecompany’s founding in 1915… vastexperience that will help you optimizehydropower in your renewable energymix… successfully navigate complexenvironmental and regulatory waters atthe local, state and federal levels…significantly increase the sustainabilityof your assets.

You need hydropower solutions that areefficient, sustainable, cost effective andflexible. We can help you achieve that.Ask Black & Veatch about new ideas for“blue” power that’s as green as it gets.

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BUILDING A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE®


NORTH AMERICA

FLOW SCIENCE INC. BOOTH 101

FLOW-3D, a computational fluid dynamics(CFD) software from Flow Science, has beendeveloped as an accurate and easy to usesoftware to allow hydraulics engineers tooptimise their designs. FLOW-3D appliesunique modeling principles, such asTruVOF, FAVOR and multi-block meshingto enhance the accuracy of users’ results.Traditional 1D and 2D software does notprovide a fully detailed analysis of flow cur-rents and flow surfaces. FLOW-3D simulatesthe entire process so these important detailsare not neglected.

FLOW-3D was designed to address a widerange of design challenges in hydraulics engi-neering. According to the company, users canincrease the capacity of existing infrastruc-ture in hydro power plants; accurately pre-dict dynamic surface profiles and flowpatterns; eliminate reduced-scale physicalmodeling; develop novel approaches to fishpassages; design intakes that minimise headloss; develop improved fore bay designs andtailrace flows; analyse scour and depositionand evaluate air entrainment.

Flow Science offers basic and advancedtraining for hydraulics users to help cus-tomers maximise their use of FLOW-3D,while also providing accessible, responsivetechnical support. A cluster version, FLOW-3D/MP v3.2, is also available. Users can typ-ically expect their simulation runtimes to bereduced by three to four times on eightprocessors. FLOW-3D/MP is available onboth Linux and Windows Compute Clusterand is certified Intel Cluster Ready, saysFlow Science.

www.flow3d.com

GEOKON. BOOTH 2019

The Geokon Model 4500AR piezometer isdesigned for use with existing data acquisi-tion systems incapable of reading standardvibrating wire sensors. The sensor hasbuilt-in electronics that cause the gaugewire to vibrate in a continuous mode at itsresonant frequency.

Multiple sensors, powered simultaneously,can be read at rates of up to five sensors persecond and dynamic measurements on asingle sensor can be made up to 20Hz. Uponpower up, the gauge will immediately start to‘ring’ at the resonant frequency and will con-tinue to do so until the power is removed.Continuous operation will have no effect onthe life of the gauge.

The Model 4500AR is powered using a 6-24VDC supply, which yields a 5V square waveoutput at the sensor frequency. This high outputoffers excellent noise immunity and enhancedsignal transmission over long (300m+) cables.

The Model 4500AR is available in Geokon’sstandard pressure ranges, with corresponding

resolution, linearity and accuracy.www.geokon.com

Simulation of a fishway on the Eastmain river in James Bay,Quebec, Canada. Image courtesy of Tecsult, Inc

• Impermeable

• Flexible

• Resistant to settlements

• Installed quickly, also underwater

• Durable

• Applicable to all types of structures

• Environmentally friendly

• Efficiently monitored

GEOMEMBRANES ARE:

Aleko daily compensating reservoir, Bulgaria 2009. Exposed waterproofing PVC geomembrane. Rehabilitation.

CARPI SYNTHETIC GEOMEMBRANES HAVE STOPPED LEAKAGE IN 90+ DAMS

Since 1963

1,200+ projects completed. Design and supply of waterproofing systems fordams, canals, hydraulic tunnels, reservoirs. Dry and underwater installation.

CARPI TECHCorso San Gottardo 86 - 6830 Chiasso - SwitzerlandPh. ++41 91 6954000 Fax. ++41 91 6954009www.carpitech.com e-mail: [email protected]

C

With working experience in over 80 countries, our engineers work to each

environment efficiently and sensitively using their experience to adapt to

regional differences and requirements.

Our past and present employees are proud to have

development of a truly sustainable renewable

energy product.

Established for over 156 years, Gilbert Gilkes &

Gordon Ltd are manufacturers and equipment

suppliers of hydro-electric turbines and ancillary

equipment from micro up to 20MW. Activities

include design, manufacture, installation,

commissioning, testing, routine service and plant

upgrade.

Gilkes turbines are built for today and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...

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JAPAN OFFICEUK OFFICE HEAD OFFICE NORTH AMERICA HYDRO

instrumentation, data acquisition andstructural monitoring systems fordams, tunnels, rockslopes, anchoring

HUGGENBERGER AG, Tödistrasse 68, CH-8810 Horgen, SwitzerlandPhone +41 44 727 77 00 Fax +41 44 727 77 07Email [email protected]://www.huggenberger.com

The World Leader in Pendulum MeasuringSystems· manual: Coordiscope KK84· automatic: Telependulum VDD2V4

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Telependulum VDD2V4

manual reading for plumb line


NORTH AMERICA

GGB Booth 700

GGB, formerly Glacier Garlock Bearings,now offers two new maintenance-free, self-lubricating composite bearings, HPF andHPM, to meet the demands of hydro powerapplications such as turbines, gates andvalves. Both meet the US Army Corps ofEngineers’ requirements for wicket gate appli-cations in hydro power turbines per testingconducted by Powertech Labs, Inc of Canada.

The bearings are particularly well suitedfor use in servo-motors, operating ring slid-ing segments, linkages, wicket gates, guidevanes, intake gate sliding segments androllers, spillway gates, trash rakes, fishscreens, trunnions, blades, injectors, deflec-tors and ball and butterfly trunnions.

HPF and HPM bearings combine the self-lubricating properties of PTFE with the highstrength and stability of an oriented glass-fiber-filled epoxy resin backing. They pro-vide high load capacities, excellent shockand edge loading resistance, low friction andwear, long service life, low water absorption

for dimensional stability and excellent cor-rosion resistance, says the company. Thebearings have been developed to performequally well in dry or wet conditions andrequire no additional lubrication that couldcontaminate rivers.

HPF is tape-based composite bearing pro-viding load capacity of up to 140 MPa. Thesliding layer consists of a proprietary filledPTFE tape liner bonded, in the case of flatmaterial, to a backing of continuous-woundglass fiber cloth laminate impregnated andcured with epoxy resin. For cylindrical bear-ings, the sliding layer is bonded to a backingof continuous-wound glass fiber encapsulat-ed in a high-temperature epoxy resin.

Maximum dry sliding speed is 2.5m/sec.Maximum PU factor is 1.23 MPa * m/s dry.Operating temperature range is -195˚C to+140˚C for flat material and -195˚C to+205˚C for cylindrical bearings. The HPFmaterial is available as cylindrical bearings indiameters up to 500mm, as well as thrustbearings and wear plates.

HPM bearings consist of a sliding layer ofcontinuous-wound PTFE and high-strengthfibers encapsulated in high-temperatureepoxy resin, backed by continuous-woundglass fiber similarly encapsulated. Maximumload capacity is 140 MPa; maximum dry slid-ing speed is 0.13 m/s; and maximum PUfactor is 1.23 MPa * m/sec dry. Operatingtemperature range is -195˚C to +160˚C. TheHPM material is available as cylindrical bear-ings in diameters up to 500mm.

www.ggbearings.com/hydro

VIBROSYSTM Booth 918

It is now possible to obtain accurate tempera-ture measurements on the whole surface of eachrotor pole and interpole, from the stator, andwithout any contact with the rotor.VibroSystM’s ThermaWatch Rotor probe andsignal conditioner have been developed to pro-vide a fast-response, on-line temperature read-ing from salient and non-salient field poles onlarge rotating machines. Its 4-20mA output canbe connected to VibroSystM’s ZOOM on-linemonitoring system or to any other instrumen-tation. Because of its small size (probe tip:5.9mm), the ThermaWatch Rotor is easy toinstall through a stator core ventilation hole orat any other location where the sensor tip canbe positioned in front of a rotor pole, rotor pole

circuit, joint or rotorpole amortisseur bar.

An overheatingrotor – a condi-

tion which may occur for a variety of reasonsincluding pole overheating, coil windingissues, magnetic flux variance, and pole con-nector and amortisseur bar overheating - cannow be detected early. ThermaWatch Rotoris a solution for monitoring rotor pole faceand winding temperature without affectingrotor integrity. When combined with mag-netic flux/air gap monitoring, and ZOOMsoftware, VibrosystM says it provides a reli-able diagnosis of machine condition.

www.vibrosystm.com

Rotor pole joint failure

VibroSystM’s ThermaWatchRotor probe and signal conditioner

SYNEXUS GLOBAL

Booth 1007

Synexus Global has announced the releaseof Vista@Plant, a new module in the Vistadecision support system (Vista DSSTM).This software component is a real-timemonitor of hydro unit and plant generatingefficiency, as well as a real-time advisor forchanges in unit commitment (on/off) andunit loading.

Vista@Plant can be implemented for oneor more hydroelectric plants, locally or ata centralised control centre, and either inde-pendently or in concert with other VistaDSS modules.

The application is a background service,configured to assess the plant and unit per-formance at regular intervals, and archivethe results. Vista@Plant works by advisingsystem operators on the best way tohandle unit loading on current synchro-nised units, as well as unit commitmentchanges so that water to wire efficienciesare improved. Also, automated audits canbe scheduled to assess historic perfor-mance in relation to pre-project baselines,based on the archived performance data.Typically, the audit report is executeddaily, weekly or monthly.

Energy gains of between 0.5% and 3%could be achieved. The company says foreach 100MW plant installed capacity, and fora 1% improvement, gains of 4.4GWh/yr andUS$220,000 per year will accrue (assumingenergy prices averaging $0.050/MWh, and a50% plant factor). Thus, for a 500MW plantand a 1.5% efficiency gain, the energy outputwould go up pro-rata by 32.9GWh/yr at avalue of US$1.1M/yr.

Vista DSS is regarded as one of theworld’s leading hydroelectric software sys-tems for long term planning (LT Vista),short-term scheduling (ST Vista), real-timedispatch (RT Vista), as well as operationalinflow forecasting (Inflow Vista).

In addition, the off-line AUTO Vistamodule is used for detailed hourly simula-tions of system operations over extendedperiods, used for studies such as hydrofacility sizing, wind integration, rate cases,facility upgrades, water resource manage-ment, and relicensing.

Vista DSS is used in over 15 majorpower producing entities in six countriesto support planning, scheduling and/or dis-patch of hydroelectric plants, totalling35,000MW. The system models both thewater resource and electric networks, andhandles conventional hydro plants, pump-generation facilities, ancillary services,interactions with the electric market andimport/export sales and purchases, as wellas numerous constraints on the hydraulicand transmission networks.

www.synexusglobal.com

When you’re building a new hydro power plant, you need a

trusted partner. And ABB has a proven track record for providing

superior Water to Wire hydro power systems around the world.

This success is due to our comprehensive power plant application knowledge, our immense

portfolio of proven products, our excellence in project management and our commitment

to lead the world in integrated instrumentation, control and electrical systems (iICE).

When you consider the whole package, it’s clear why ABB is the trusted source.

For more information about ABB for hydro power call 440-585-8484 or

contact us at [email protected].

ABB Inc.3450 Harvester RoadBurlington, ON, Canada L7N 3W5www.abb.com© Copyright 2008 ABB.

Trust: You can bank on it.

ABB Hydro Power Generation for Water to Wire


TUNNELLING

tract was valued at US$31.4M and work was scheduled to take 40months. The second contract (package 61/XL-AL, valued atUS$22.3M) was signed on 29 June 2007 and involved constructionof temporary tunnels No 3 and No 4, surge tank, and the headracetunnel from the rear of tunnel No 2 to the tunnel outlet. Work onthis package was schedule for 1187 days (approximately 39 months).

The tunnel work involves building the 11,626m long headracetunnel which consists of: a 6204m section covered by armoured con-crete (H4.7m, Dia 4m); a 1057m section covered by steel and con-crete (H4.7m, Dia 3.2m); a 4100m section without covering(H6.5m, Dia 6.5m); and a 265m vertical shaft with an outer diam-eter of 4.8m and internal diameter of 3.2m, covered by concrete. A1526.46m long temporary tunnel is also being built split into foursections as mentioned above: Tunnel 1 (496.92m); Tunnel 2(374.49m); Tunnel 3 (405.21m); and Tunnel 4 (249.84m). The pro-ject’s surge tank is 150m in length with an outer diameter of 5m andan inner diameter of 4m.

Excavation works on the project include excavating and rein-forcing the portals, building the cofferdam and the barrow pit forthe surge tank. The total volume of material to be excavated is1.9Mm3, including soil and stone. Details of the excavation workare included in Table 1, with the main equipment used for the pro-ject works shown in Table 2. The construction material used at siteincludes: reinforced concrete, cement, sand, steel, cobble, ashalarstone and granite set, explosive P113.

THE 170MW A Luoi hydro power plant is being developedon the A Sap river in the A Luoi district of Thua Thien HueProvince, Vietnam, by the Central Hydropower Joint StockCompany. The project, which is scheduled to begin opera-

tion in 2011, is expected to help improve the ecological environmentin the area, promote infrastructure development, and improve cul-tural and social life for local communities.

The project’s infrastructure includes:• Ascent dam: a 50.5m high, 200m long concrete gravity dam, el

55m asl.• Reservoir with a surface area of approximately 10km2. The power

pool is nearly 11km long and lies along the valley of the A Sap andTa Rinh rivers and Rao Lai stream.

• A 2.2km long diversion channel.• A single portal type intake.• A 158.5m high surge tank.

TUNNELLING AND EXCAVATION WORK

Vietnamese civil construction contractor Cavico Corporation wascontracted to carry out the complete tunnel and excavation workson the scheme. The company was awarded two contracts. The first(package 60/XL-AL) was signed on 29 July 2007 and involved con-struction of the intake, temporary tunnels No 1 and No 2, and theheadrace tunnel from the intake to the rear of tunnel No 1. The con-

Work is well underway on the A Luoi hydroproject in Vietnam’s Thua Thien HueProvince, with civil construction contractorCavico Corporation building the project’sextensive tunnel system. IWP&DC talked tothe Vietnamese company to learn more aboutthe work involved in the 170MW scheme

Tunnelling methodologyThe tunnel excavation and support at A Luoi was carried out following theNew Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM). This method uses the advantageof the rock’s capability to support itself, by careful measures anddeliberate guidance of the forces during the re-adjustment process fromthe primary to secondary state of stress-strain which takes place in thesurrounding area of the excavation. The rock mass will be able to supportthe stress-strain as long as local progressive loosening will be limited byrock support like shotcrete and rockbolts. In more jointed rock mass theshotcrete has to be reinforced by steel mesh or steel fiber and the lengthand number of rock bolts have to be increased. In the fault zones it maybecome necessary to use rockbolts and rock anchors in order to improvethe triaxial state of stress in rock mass itself, enabling the support towithstand the secondary shear stress. The application of the NATMrequires deformation monitoring and measurement by means of surveyand special devices.

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SMALL HYDRO AWARD

impacts and water use restraints, as well as securing land lease agree-ments, a power generation licence, and a power purchase agreement.

At the time of development there was quite a lot of relatively newlegislation on South Africa’s statute books – the Water Act, theNational Environmental Management Act, the act governing theNational Electricity Regulator – that has not really been tested inrespect of independent power producers operating at small scale.

The approval of the environmental impact assessment scopingstudy took nine months. The approval of the water use licence wasissued after three years.

After obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and securingfinance for construction of the project, Bethlehem Hydro approachedNinham Shand to provide the necessary Consulting Services for theimplementation of the project. Ninham Shand obtained the services ofsub-consultants (BWG Hydro for turbines, Merz and McLellan forPower Lines and Profection for design of hydraulic gates) to providethe required expertise for realisation of the project.

At the commencement of the project Bethlehem Hydro undertooka thorough review of the feasibility study proposals for the projectlayout and made significant improvements to the layouts, particu-larly for the Sol Plaatje Power Station, where the power station wasmoved from the left bank to the right bank of the Dam. Lowest con-

BETHLEHEM HYDRO PROJECT, SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa-based energy company NuPlanet is the developer ofthe 7MW Bethlehem Hydro project, and is managing the construc-tion of the plant as well as it future operation. The project is locat-ed near the town of Bethlehem in South Africa and is owned byBethlehem Hydro. The project – the first Greenfield hydro projectconstructed in the country – comprises two separate generation siteslocated on the As River: the Merino and Sol Plaatje stations.

The Sol Plaatje power station has a generating head of approxi-mately 11m and at a maximum flow of 30m3/sec will generate3MW. The power station is located on the right bank of the SolPlaatje Dam. A new intake was constructed within the non-over-spill flank and the power station was located immediately down-stream of the intake. Water is returned to the Liebenbergsvlei Riverdownstream of the Dam. One 2.1m diameter Kaplan turbine,attached to a generator, is installed in the power Station.

The Merino project consists of a diversion weir with a semi-circu-lar spillway in the As River, a 700m long canal to transfer the waterto the power station – a small forebay and power station situated ina sandstone bank from where the water is returned to the As River.

The generating head is approximately 14m and the generationoutput at the maximum flow will be approximately 4MW. A singleKaplan turbine and generator is also installed in this power station.

Bethlehem Hydro will generate income from the project by sell-ing electrical power and capacity under a long term power purchaseagreement (PPA) and by selling its reduction in greenhouse gas emis-sions as Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). Annual base loadpower production is set at 38GWh.

HistoryNuPlanet was first alerted to the opportunity to develop a small-scale hydro power plant in 1999 by MBB Consulting Engineers whoare involved in the established Freidenheim hydro power schemenear Nelspruit in Mpumalanga. Hydro power opportunities areunusual in South Africa, but the outflow from the LesothoHighlands Water Scheme, which emerges near Bethlehem in the FreeState, presents a large flow volume in a geographic area where thereare sufficient height differences to capture a powerful head of water.In addition, the flow of water is not seasonally variable, as it relieson the steady release of water from the dams in Lesotho.

NuPlanet undertook a broad pre-feasibility study, basically at risk.It investigated the opportunity and ascertained that the project wasfeasible. When the Netherlands initiated its AIJ pilot programme –a precursor to the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism– NuPlanet submitted a project proposal to the Dutch governmentto obtain grant funding for the feasibility work required to take theproject forward, and was successful in obtaining finance.

In 2002 Bethlehem Hydro contracted Ninham Shand to undertakethe initial technical feasibility study of the project and provide ser-vices for the environmental approvals required for the project.Feasibility assessments for the development had to take account notonly of technical and commercial factors, but also of environmental

In a continuation of our Small Hydro Award, here you’ll find details on further shortlistedprojects – the 7MW Bethlehem scheme in South Africa and the 950kW McLeod GreenEnergy project in Canada. Details on the last four shortlisted projects will be published inthe July issue, after which you will get the opportunity to vote for one project to bepresented with our ‘Best Small Hydro Project’ award

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SMALL HYDRO AWARD

struction cost solutions were required to be implemented due to themarginal financial viability of the project, which has subsequentlyimproved markedly due to increases in electricity prices.

Three separate contracts were envisaged, i.e. a contract for con-struction of the civil works, a contract for the manufacture, supply, deliv-ery and installation of turbines and generators and a contract for theinstallation of the transmission lines. The contracts for the civil worksand power lines were awarded to local contractors, while internation-al manufacturers were approached for the turbines and generators.

Five international suppliers were pre-qualified for the tender to man-ufacture, supply and install the turbines and generators. Tenders werereviewed and it was recommended that the contract be awarded toBoving Fouress Limited, India. Prior to award of the contract the pro-ject team visited Boving Fouress in India to assess its capability andto inspect projects where its equipment had been installed. On thebasis of the findings, it was concluded that the equipment would befit for purpose and the contract was awarded to the company.

MCLEOD GREEN ENERGY PROJECT, CANADA

The McLeod Green Energy Project is located on the Moira River inBelleville, Ontario. It was constructed in 2007/08 on a flood controldam owned and operated by Quinte Conservation and can gener-ate up to 950kW of electricity. The headpond created by the damforms a narrow impoundment that stays within the river banks cre-ating a maximum head of 5.2m. This is a run-of-river scheme thatwas developed by Quinte Conservation with the design assistanceof Hatch Energy.

Quinte Conservation is a conservation authority that is run by aboard of directors from 18 member municipalities. It is a non-profitagency that provides many environmental programs to the public,owns over 30,000 acres of land, and operates 40 dams. This pro-ject was conceived to locally demonstrate green energy and reducegreenhouse gas emissions.

Quinte Conservation wanted this project to be a net gain for theenvironment in several ways. The headpond regulation is antici-pated to be a benefit to fish habitat by providing stable water levels.As a green energy project it would have obvious emission reduc-tions. By tying into the distribution system it would also provideenergy that would be used locally and reduce losses from trans-mission lines that are already nearing capacity. Since QuinteConservation is an environmental agency, the revenues from theproject will be put into local environmental programs that willincrease the spinoff effect.

The dam is an embankment type structure with a steel sheetpilecore. Two 3m x 3m concrete gated culverts permitted low flowsthrough the embankment section. At the west side a 36m wide

sluiceway passes major flows. Modifications were made to the damto install a 3.25m high Obermeyer gate within the sluiceway to con-trol the headpond level. Two double regulated Kaplan turbines wereadded to the low flow structure and a control room was construct-ed within the embankment. The turbines were built by CanadianHydro Components in Almonte, Ontario and were paired to 475kWsynchronous generators.

The installation of the turbines was the most difficult of all thework and presented the greatest technical challenge. It involved theconstruction of a small cofferdam to dry the work area around theculverts so that the bottoms could be lowered by 2m to optimize tur-bine placement. The riverbed is shaley limestone and there was sig-nificant leakage into the work area. Large diesel pumps were neededto dewater the work area. This work proceeded through the wintermaking the work even more difficult as frigid weather compound-ed pump failures.

H.R. Doornekamp Construction Ltd. from Odessa, Ontario wasthe selected as the general contractor. The company had extensiveexperience placing concrete in and around water, but had never com-pleted a hydro power project. After more than one year of con-struction and a lot of teamwork between designers, suppliers, ownerand contractor, the project was successfully completed in the fall of2008 making this one of the first new hydro power projects inOntario in over 15 years.

For further information contact Bryon Keene, WaterResources Manager, Quinte Conservation. Email:

[email protected]

An open tender process was followed on the South African marketfor the appointment of contractors to undertake the civil works andinstall the power lines. After a detailed assessment of tendersreceived, Eigenbau (Pty) Ltd was appointed to construct the civilworks and EDS Electrical was appointed to install the power linebetween Sol Plaatje and the town of Bethlehem. The power line toconvey power from the Merino power station to link into the Eskomnetwork was constructed by Eskom.

Final energy output at both power stations has increased com-pared to the feasibility study, due to such factors as design improve-ments and better hydrological records. All role players have shownan unusual commitment to overcoming obstacles as a team, whichhas resulted in a successful project.

For further information contact Nuplanet,E-mail: [email protected], www.nuplanet.co.za

IWP& DC

Views of the powerhouse during and after construction

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FORUM

THE world is increasingly recognis-ing the implications and imperativesof climate change. Hydro power asa low greenhouse gas generator and

a strategy to address water storage andmanagement has a valuable contribution tomake in addressing global warming.

Many sectors are increasingly looking athydro power as a preferred developmentoption. In some regions there is considerabledevelopment potential and the pace of hydropower development is extremely rapid. Atpresent there is insufficient guidance, controlor leverage to ensure these developments arebased on sustainability principles and con-tributing to sustainable development.

SUSTAINABLE HYDRO POWER

The challenge is to ensure sustainablydeveloped and managed projects. Therehave been and continue to be many initia-tives to address sustainability issues indams and hydro power (Figure 1). TheWorld Commission on Dams (WCD) high-lighted many of the problems that can arisewith dams, and initiatives such as theSustainable Hydropower Website(www.sustainablehydropower.org) and theIEA Implementing Agreement Phase 2 haveidentified and drawn attention to examplesof hydro power projects that have success-fully addressed issues and concerns.

Some of the most influential initiatives toaddress the sustainability of the hydrosector have been driven by the sector itself.The International Hydropower Association(IHA) developed Sustainability Guidelinesin 2004, and subsequently a SustainabilityAssessment Protocol in 2006 as a measur-ing tool to assess social, environmental andeconomic performance against criteriadescribed in the Guidelines.

The Hydropower SustainabilityAssessment Forum (HSAF) is not anattempt to duplicate or re-write the WCDoutcomes. Unlike WCD, it is not aCommission reviewing performance of asector. The HSAF is a cross-sector collab-oration looking at an existing performancemeasurement tool and proposing enhance-ments. It draws on WCD Core Values andStrategic Priorities, along with other exist-ing principles and policies, in its work to

develop a practical assessment tool forhydro power sustainability. There is poten-tial for WCD recommendations to be moreclearly seen in this tool.

OBJECTIVE OF THE FORUM

The need for a simple measurement tool,that is practical, objective, and able to beimplemented across a range of contexts hasbeen an objective in development of theIHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol2006 and is a key consideration in thework of the Forum.

The HSAF is a cross-sectoral partnershipthat aims to establish a broadly endorsed sus-tainability assessment tool to measure andguide performance in the hydro power sector.

The Forum’s work centers on the IHASustainability Guidelines and AssessmentProtocol. Advantages of focusing on thiswork were seen to be that it builds on theWCD, the Dams and Development Project(DDP) and other principles and policies; itprovides a balance across economic, social,environmental issues; it is a practical approachto measure sustainability; it is well establishedand has already been subject to a process ofcontinuous improvement (six versions since2003); and that it has the strong endorsementof the hydro power sector.

Issues with the existing Protocol are thatsome issues are not well covered (e.g. indige-nous peoples, resettlement, environmentalflows, climate change); there are areas of sub-

jectivity; there could be stronger connectionwith the Guidelines; there is a lack of clarityon thresholds, and there could be improvedsupport such as technical guidance notes.

The major opportunity presented by thiseffort is that the protocol could experiencebroad endorsement and much wider appli-cation; it could be tailored to better meet theneeds of sectors beyond hydro powerowners and operators, and it could har-monise with other standards.

FORUM COMPOSITION

There are 14 Forum members, includingrepresentatives of developed and developingcountries involved in hydro power as well asfrom the NGO, finance and industry sectors.A list of the members is given below:

Developing countries• Dr Yu Xuezhong, Institute of Water

Resources and Hydropower Research,PR China

• Mr Zhou Shichun, China HydropowerEngineering Consulting Group Co, PRChina

• Mr Isreal Phiri, Manager PPI, Ministry ofEnergy and Water Development, Zambia

Developed countries• Mr Geir Hermansen, Senior Advisor,

Department of Energy, Norad, Norway• Prof Gudni A Johannesson, Director

General, National Energy Authority, Iceland

Dr Helen Locher of the IHA details the objectives of the Hydropower SustainabilityAssessment Forum (HSAF) and describes its progress to date

HSAF – an assessmenttool for sustainability

IEA Implementing Agreement for Hydropower

World Commissionon Dams

UNEP Dams and Development Project

IHA Sustainability Guidelines

IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol

Hydropower Sustainability Assessent Forum

Sustainability Hydropower Website

IHA Blue Planet Prize

Phase 1 Phase 2

Phase 1 Phase 2

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Timeline of Initiatives

Figure 1:Initiativestowardssustainablehydro power

trialling and a second phase of consultationduring August-October 2009. The intent isto have a final Protocol by early 2010.

A subsequent work phase, commencing in2010, intends to focus on Protocol applica-tions, potentially including pathways towardsa sector standard and certification scheme.

USES, USERS AND MAXIMISINGIMPACT

Potential applications for the HSAF arebroad in terms of who uses it and for whatpurpose. These include:• All sectors providing a common basis for

dialogue on sustainability issues;• Governments, potential financiers and

other decision-makers can use the Protocolto ensure that new hydro power develop-ments are an appropriate solution for thecontext in which they are proposed;

• Companies, governments, financial insti-tutions and NGOs can use the Protocol toguide development of new hydro facilities;

• Companies, governments and develop-ment agencies to assess the sustainabilityof existing operations and develop pro-grams for improvement;

• NGOs and civil society to evaluate the sus-tainability of hydro power projects at dif-ferent life cycle stages and to form a basisfor dialogue and evaluation of operatorsand financiers hydro power initiatives;

• Developers, financial institutions and otherinvestors in assessing the risks of potentialinvestments and as part of due diligence;

• The hydro power sector in seeking exter-nal qualification for financing from banks,carbon credits (e.g. CDM/JI), renewableenergy credits (e.g. RECs), recognition involuntary markets (e.g. green certificates);

FORUM


• Ms Kirsten Nyman, Policy Advisor forSustainable Hydropower, GTZ, Germany(observer)

Hydro power sector• Dr Refaat Abdel Malek, President,

International Hydropower Association• Mr Andrew Scanlon, Coordinating Author,

IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol

NGOs – Environmental Aspects• Mr David Harrison, Senior Advisor, Global

Freshwater Team, The Nature Conservancy• Dr Joerg Hartmann, Lead, Dams

Initiative, World Wildlife Fund

NGOs – Social Aspects• Mr Michael Simon, Lead, Development

Banks/NRM, Oxfam• Dr Donal O’Leary, Water Sector Specialist,

Transparency International

Finance Sector, Economic Aspects• Ms Courtney Lowrance, Environmental

Specialist, Equator Principles FinancialInstitutions Group

• Ms Daryl Fields, Senior Water ResourcesSpecialist, World Bank (observer)

Forum Chair• Mr Andre Abadie, Sustainable Finance Ltd

The Forum provides a diversity of expertiseand cross-sectoral views relevant to consider-ation of sustainability issues for hydro powerprojects throughout their life cycle, but doesnot claim to be fully representative of all stake-holder groups. There are four NGO represen-tatives on the Forum, representing Oxfam,The Nature Conservancy, TransparencyInternational and WWF. The establishment ofreference groups and the Forum’s consultationphases are targeted at helping inform Forummembers of the diversity of viewpoints that arenot directly represented on the Forum.

FORUM WORK PLAN

The Forum is operating over a two yearperiod. Following the Forum launch inMarch 2008 in Washington DC, Forummeetings have been held in July 2008 (USA),September 2008 (Zambia), October 2008(China), December 2008 (Brazil), andMarch 2009 (Turkey). The Forum nextmeets in June 2009 (Iceland), with a furthertwo meetings planned in October 2009 andFebruary 2010 (locations to be determined).

In its work plan (Figure 2), the Forum isdetermining the relevant issues to be includ-ed in the assessment protocol and the mea-surement approach for each of these issues.The work plan involves input from expertson key hydro power sustainability themes,on-ground assessments of schemes, work-shop sessions focused on the Protocol, andinput from key stakeholder reference groups.

The Forum is presently in the stage ofdeveloping a full draft of the protocol byJuly 2009, to then be subject to a period of

and the administrators of these schemes injudging admission;• Verification agencies certifying a level of

sustainability;• Hydro owners/operators for corporate

sustainability management and training.By the end of the two-year process (early2010), the HSAF aims to have a broadlyendorsed measurement tool for assessinghydro power sustainability. Once a founda-tion document is produced and broadlyendorsed, there are many options for how itcould be further developed. The HSAF hasalready commenced an analysis of whatfuture pathways for the Protocol will have themost influence on lifting sustainability per-formance in the sector, and the requirementsto develop those pathways. The opportuni-ties and process for a follow-up to the HSAFwill increasingly be a focal area as the HSAFmoves into the latter part of 2009, but theHSAF is committed to get a broadly endorsedfoundation document as a first step.

There is a multitude of potential pathwaysforward in 2010, which will be consideredby a second phase of effort. These potentialpathways include sector guidelines, sustain-ability and performance standards, awardsand recognition schemes, industry bench-marking, capacity building through trainingprograms, admission criteria for specificmarkets, sustainability certification schemes,informational websites, reflected in nation-al and regional legislation and policies, andreflected in bank safeguards policies.

PROGRESS TO DATE

To date, the Forum has completed a phaseof foundation work in Meetings 2-4, aimedat better understanding of the existing

Q1/2008 Q1/2009Qtr 2 Qrt 3 Qrt 4 Q1/2010Qtr 2 Qrt 3 Qrt 4

1. Washington, DC (USA)

2. Santa Rosa (USA)

3. Kafue (Zambia)

4. Yichang (China)

5. Iguassu (Brazil)

6. Capadoccia (Turkey)

7. Reykjavik (Iceland)

8. December 2009

9. February 2010

Nov 08: Status Report

Mar 09: Consultation Outcomes Reports

bNov 09: Consultation & Trialling Outcomes Reports

Jul 09: Status Report

Jan 08: Protocol KeyComponents Document Jan-Feb 09

Aug-Oct 09

Forum Launch

Review existing IHAsustainabilityassessment protcol(2006)

ConsultationPhase 1

ConsultationPhase 2 & trialling

Develop drafthydropowersustainabilityassessmentprotocol

Endorsement &way forward

Develop finalprotocol

Jul 09: Draft Revised Protocol

Figure 2: Forum work plan – stages, meeting dates and venues, consultation, milestone reports


FORUM

Protocol and key issues (e.g. economics andfinance, technical considerations, trans-parency, governance, anti-corruption, envi-ronmental flows, strategic assessments,transboundary issues, resettlement, benefitsharing), and involving expert presentationsand project assessments. Meeting 5 focussedon the key components of the DraftHydropower Sustainability AssessmentProtocol, and Meeting 6 reviewed feedbackon these key components and made agree-ments on development of the Draft Protocol.

A key proposal arising from the Forum’sconsiderations is for a four-section Protocolas shown below:

IHA Protocol Section I – Strategic AssessmentAssesses the strategic basis for a hydropower project. This section of the Protocolcan be used prior to and to inform the deci-sion that there is a strategic basis to moveforward with project preparation.

IHA Protocol Section II – HydropowerProject PreparationAssesses the preparation stage of a hydroproject during which investigations, plan-ning and design are undertaken for allaspects of the project. This section can beused prior to and to inform the decision tomove forward with project implementation.

IHA Protocol Section III – HydropowerProject ImplementationAssesses the implementation stage of ahydro power project during which con-struction, resettlement and other manage-ment plans and commitments areimplemented. This section of the Protocolcan be used to inform the timing and condi-tions of project commissioning

IHA Protocol Section IV – HydropowerFacility OperationAssesses the operation of a hydro facility.This section of the Protocol can be used toinform the view that the facility is operatingon a sustainable basis with active measuresin place towards continuous improvement

Each section has a set of sustainability issues(aspects) which would be assessed. Thenumber of aspects range from 5 to 33 persection, with the most being in the Project

Preparation stage. These aspects encompasstechnical, economic, governance, environ-mental and social considerations, and thefinal lists may still undergo some refinementpending consultation feedback, furtheranalysis and trialling. Each aspect receivesa score between 1 and 5. The Protocol setsout the scoring criteria for each of theaspects, and requires review of objective evi-dence to support awarding of a score. Theintent is to make this scoring process asobjective and replicable as possible, and totest that this will be the case through the tri-alling of the Draft Protocol.

OBTAINING FEEDBACK

Two phases of consultation are scoped intothe work plan. The first consultation phaseaimed at establishing relationships withstakeholders, informing them on Forumobjectives, process and progress, andobtaining feedback, and was undertakenduring January-February 2009. Considerableeffort was put into reaching and under-standing the views of civil society organisa-tions additional to the Forum NGOs.Because of budget constraints, face-to-faceopportunities were limited.

During Consultation Phase 1, severalchallenges in the consultation processbecame apparent to the Forum membersbased on review of the issues raised:• Recommendations of the Forum up to this

point in time were focussed on updatingthe structure of the existing IHASustainability Assessment Protocol (2006),ensuring full coverage of issues (aspects)and outlining the characteristics (attribut-es) of sustainability practices, and as suchthe Key Components Document releasedfor comment was an interim document.Although the Forum’s objective is to pro-duce a tool against which developers,NGOs, government and an array of userscan assess the level of sustainability per-formance, the scoring system had not yetbeen drafted. The scoring system will beapparent in the Draft Protocol on whichthe next consultation period will focus,and the consultation Phase 2 will seekinput on the scoring system and the applic-ability of the assessment tool.

• The Forum work plan of two years is seen

by the Forum as a first phase, developing abroadly endorsed sustainability assessmenttool for which there are many possiblefuture pathways, including development ofa sector standard. The Forum was seekingfeedback on the assessment tool, but manycomments made it clear that stakeholderswant to know what happens next, whatminimum requirements for acceptabilitywould be built into a standard, and howwould it be used, implemented andenforced. The Forum recognises that itswork could be considered a pre-standardsetting phase, but that if a future pathway isfor development of a standard then theprocess for this would have to be defined.The Forum aims to be compliant with theISEAL Code of Good Practice for SettingSocial and Environmental Standards as faras practicable so that this work of the Forumwould provide a good foundation stage forany future standard-setting process.

The phase 1 consultation was managed byan independent consultant. All issues raisedin the consultation were summarised by theconsultant into a Consultation OutcomesReport, and the Forum provided responsesto each of these issues. A number of actionsand commitments arose as a result of theconsultation issues raised. Both theConsultation Outcomes Report and theForum responses are provided on theForum’s website – www.hydropower.org/sustainable_hydropower/hsaf.html .

The second consultation phase, aimed atgetting detailed comments on the DraftHydropower Sustainability AssessmentProtocol, is scheduled for August-October2009. The second consultation phase willbe alongside a period of trial sustainabilityassessments of hydro power projects usingthe Draft Protocol.

The Forum commits to incorporate intothe design of the Phase 2 Consultation (Aug-Oct 09) a number of regional approaches,and to make it an objective to get goodinsights into civil society and dam-affectedpeoples’ views on both the Draft Protocol andits future directions. The Forum is commit-ted to involve civil society representatives inthe trialling program for the Draft Protocol(Aug-Oct 09) as well as to look for andpursue additional opportunities to involvecivil society representatives in the Forum’sforward work plan. The Forum welcomesany suggestions from civil society groupsabout ways to better include diverse opinionsand experience of dam affected peoples andtheir support into the Forum process.

Considerable information on theHydropower Sustainability

Assessment Forum is available atwww.hydropower.org/sustainable_hydropower/hsaf.html or by contactingthe Sustainability Forum Coordinator,

Dr Helen Locher, [email protected]

IWP& DC

Forum members and invited specialists at Forum meeting 3, held in Zambia in September 2008

1. The Chairman, CENTRAL ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY BUREAU of 415, Bauddhaloka Mawatha Colombo 7,Sri Lanka, on behalf of Rwanda Mountain Tea s.a.r.l invites sealed Pre-Qualification Applications from eligibleContractors for the selection of Tenderers for the construction and completion of the Proposed Hydro PowerProject in Giciye river in Rwanda.

2. The proposed Small Hydro Power Project is to be constructed in Giciye river close to Jomba about 150 km north –east of capital Kigali. Site is accessible from near the bridge over Giciye river located on Karago –Kabaya road. Aconcrete weir 4.0m high and 20.0m long will be constructed. Power canal will be of 5.0 m3/s capacity, 2.5 km longconcrete lined canal of bed width 2.5m and depth 1.4m. A de-silting tank at a downstream point from the weir anda forebay structure at the tail end will be constructed along the power canal. Trash screens and rakes will beprovided at the power intake as well as at the entrance to the forebay tank. 1000mm diameter x 130m longpenstock line will be constructed up to the power station. Installed capacity of the power station will be 5.0 MW.3units of 1670kW capacity will be installed. Turbines will be horizontal shaft Pelton wheel type directly coupled tothe turbines. A switchyard of 33kV including transformers will be installed just outside the power station. 4km long,33kV Transmission line from the switchyard will be erected to connect with the national grid available near Jombacity center.

Power station building will be approximately 10m X 25m to accommodate the generators, turbines and the controlpanel.

Main construction contractors possessing registration with the Government of Rwanda for construction of hydropower projects or a Joint Venture where the lead partner is a main construction contractor, who have successfullycompleted at least one hydro power project of value more than USD. 5.0 million within the last 5 years are eligibleto apply for the Pre-Qualification.

3. Pre-Qualification documents in duplicate can be purchased from the Head office of Rwanda Mountain Tea s.a.r.lbetween 09.00 hrs. and 16.00 hrs. on working days from the office of the Director General, Rwanda Mountain Teas.a.r.l, by interested eligible contractors on submission of a written application to the Director General, RwandaMountain Tea s.a.r.l, and upon payment of a non- refundable fee of Rwf Fifteen thousand (Rwf. 15,000.00).

4. Duly completed application for Pre-Qualifications shall be submitted in duplicate before 14.00 hrs on 30th July 2009addressed to the Chairman, Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau, 415, Bauddhaloka Mawatha Colombo 7, SriLanka.

Applications for Pre-Qualifications may be sent by courier mail or may be deposited in the Tender Box kept in theaddress mentioned below on or before 1400 hrs. on 30th July 2009.

The Chairman, Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau reserves the right to reject or accept any application and toannul the pre-qualification process and reject all applications, without thereby incurring any liability to the affectedapplicants or any obligation to inform the applicants of the grounds for the action.

Chairman,Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau415, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7,Sri Lanka.Email: [email protected]: ww.rwandamountaintea.com

RWANDAMOUNTAINTEAS.A.R.LINVITATION FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTION

CONTRACTORSFOR

PROPOSED “RWANDA MOUNTAIN TEA GICIYEHYDRO POWER PROJECT” IN GICIYE RIVER NEAR

JOMBA IN RWANDA


FORUMOPINION

LARGE dams that did not considerthe interests of affected communitiesand the environment have impover-ished affected communities and

degraded ecosystems around the world. Civilsociety campaigns against such projects haveoften caused massive delays and cost over-runs and have sunk large-scale investments.

The World Bank’s safeguard policies, theEquator Principles and the CommonApproaches of export credit agencies to theenvironment were a response to the lack ofstandards for infrastructure projects. Even ifthey vary in their details, these policies createa degree of predictability for financiers andinvestors, and make it easier for govern-ments to reconcile their social, environmen-tal and economic interests and obligations.

The World Commission on Dams (WCD)has prepared the most comprehensive guide-lines for planning and implementing waterand energy projects. The WCD frameworkespouses an approach in which all actors –including dam-affected communities – haveenforceable rights. It turned affected com-munities from being recipients or victims ofdevelopment projects into actors at thenegotiating table.

A NEW APPROACH

The European Commission and several pri-vate banks have adopted the WCD frame-work in its entirety. Many other financialinstitutions, governments and industryassociations have endorsed theCommission’s strategic priorities, but notthe more specific policy principles. TheInternational Hydropower Association(IHA) has expressed concern “about thepracticality of all affected people being partof the negotiation process”.

In 2007 IHA and a number of otherorganizations created the HydropowerSustainability Assessment Forum (HSAF)to come up with a new approach (see thearticle on p40). The official goal of thisforum is to “develop a broadly endorsedsustainability assessment tool to measureand guide performance in the hydro powersector” by the end of 2009.

HSAF is currently preparing a newSustainability Assessment Protocol withguidelines on more than 80 aspects ofhydro projects. Each of these aspects willbe elaborated through a set of criteria orattributes. The future protocol will allow

scoring the performance of projects alongthese attributes. The industry hopes that itwill be able to attract concessional financeand carbon credits for projects which passan HSAF score card.

LACK OF CLEAR STANDARDS

In spite of past experiences and the expec-tations of financiers, investors and manygovernments, the new HSAF approachdoes not include any minimum standardsfor hydroelectric projects. According tothe Forum, the future protocol “will setout a spectrum of performance on keyhydro power sustainability issues withoutspecifying guidelines or minimum stan-dards on acceptable hydro power sustain-ability performance”.

HSAF summarized its proposedapproach in a Key ComponentsDocument in January 2009. Its approachbuilds on the voluntary efforts ofdevelopers to manage problems, ratherthan binding standards that could avoidproblems from the outset. The followingexamples illustrate the problems andlimitations of this approach:

Peter Bosshard of International Riversargues that the industry-led HSAFprocess falls behind current interna-tional standards, and may create newconflicts in the hydro power sector

The HSAFprocess – viewfrom an NGO

standards requirement” (without identify-ing any standards).• The HSAF document does not recognize

traditional land rights, which could dis-possess numerous indigenous communi-ties affected by dam projects. It also failsto address the large population groups(such as downstream communities) whichare not displaced but lose access tocommon resources such as fisheries,floodplains and forests.

• Although many dams are being built inearthquake-prone areas, the documentdoes not consider the risks of reservoir-induced seismicity.

HSAF subjected the Key ComponentsDocument to a first phase of public consulta-tion in January and February 2009. A recur-rent theme in the reactions by private banks,donor governments and civil society organi-zations was that an assessment tool would notbe useful unless it defined clear minimum stan-dards for hydro power projects.

The NGOs argue that HSAF is not theappropriate body for developing new stan-dards, but that any new assessment toolneeds to incorporate the social and environ-mental standards which have already beenestablished.

However, in April the HSAF membersconfirmed that their future protocol will notinclude any minimum standards. The vari-ous aspects in the protocol will “not state arequirement”, and will “not specify a levelof acceptability”.

THE PROBLEM OF SCORING

The HSAF protocol will include a long listof criteria (or attributes) according to whichthe performance of hydro power projectscan be scored. HSAF believes that a ratingmethod for hydro power projects willencourage good practice in the industry.

It is in the nature of scorecards (as com-pared to minimum standards that must be ful-filled) that low scores in certain aspects can beoffset by higher scores in others. This is par-ticularly relevant in the case of the HSAF pro-tocol, where a few specific key criteria may beovertaken by vague, less important attributes.

The HSAF approach would allow projectsthat violate human rights, impoverish thou-sands of people or destroy important ecosys-tems but had good economics or first-classconstruction and safety management plansto be rated as sustainable. This ignores thebasic principle that social, environmentaland economic sustainability can not betraded in against each other.

The HSAF members emphasize that theyhave not yet settled on a specific scoringmethod. In principle, the Forum could devel-op a rating system that does not aggregatethe performance of projects on the protocol’sapproximately 80 aspects, but score projectperformance along all different aspects sep-arately. This would however make overallassessments very difficult.

FORUMOPINION


• HSAF’s Key Components Document doesnot identify compliance with existing lawsand regulations as a minimum require-ment of sustainable hydro power projects.Instead, it proposes to score the degree ofcompliance, using attributes such as the“likelihood of compliance with regionaland national plans” and the “degree ofconformance with relevant internationalprotocols and conventions”.

• The document does not require that newprojects conform with internationalhuman rights norms, and fails to addressthe human rights situation in the hostcountries of projects. Its proposed scoringmethod only addresses the risks toinvestors, and not to affected communities(for example in the form of exacerbatedrepression).

• Instead of recognizing indigenous peo-ples’ right to free, prior informed consent,the document proposes to score “under-standing the legal rights as embedded innational and international law”. Thisapproach falls behind international normsand national legislation on the subject.

• The HSAF document does not requireInternational Competitive Bidding (ICB)for large hydro projects, but merely pro-poses to measure attributes such as the“quality of the bidding documents, includ-ing addressing anti-bribery issues”. HSAFthus falls behind the procurement policiesof international financial institutions,which prescribe ICB as a mandatory toolof combating bribery.

• The document does not recognize the rightof affected people to access key projectinformation, but instead proposes to scoreattributes such as the “quality of the pro-ject communication strategy”. Thisapproach falls behind the current infor-mation policies of most multilateral devel-opment banks.

• The document does not define laborrights (such as the right to unionize)which must be respected in project con-struction. It instead proposes to scoreattributes such as the “quality of the labormanagement system”.

• The Key Components Document does notstipulate any ecological no-go areas fordam building such as national parks,World Heritage Sites or Ramsar sites. Itmerely proposes to measure attributessuch as the “quality of plans to managefor biodiversity and conservation objec-tives”. This approach falls behind the cur-rent policies of international financialinstitutions.

• The document does not require that dis-placement of affected people be avoided.It does not prescribe land-for-land com-pensation for displaced people, or anyother minimum compensation. It insteadproposes to measure the “degree ofchange in living standard of directlyaffected stakeholders” (without indicat-ing any timeframe) and the “level of com-pliance with resettlement legislation and

In the Key Components Document, HSAFasserts that the future protocol will rely “onobjective evidence to support the score, thatis, evidence that is factual, reproducible,objective and verifiable”. This will be a basicrequirement of an operational rating system.

The HSAF document illustrates a poten-tial scoring method with an example fromIHA’s existing Sustainability AssessmentProtocol. This protocol awards the top scorefor the biodiversity aspect to projects thathave “adequate and suitable plans forunderstanding of relevant catchment, in-reservoir, and downstream biodiversityissues”. In projects such as the Nam Theun2 Dam in Laos, there has often been strongpublic disagreement regarding whether theproposed environmental management planswere “adequate and suitable”. The proposedmethod does not offer any objective criteriathat could resolve such disagreements.

The examples quoted in the critiqueabove illustrate that most of the attributesthat HSAF has so far presented are quali-tative and subjective. Attributes such as the“likelihood of compliance with regionalplans” or the “quality of the labor man-agement system” are not factual, repro-ducible, objective and verifiable. Having todeal with hundreds of vague and qualita-tive attributes for 80 different aspects maywell be more cumbersome than following26 WCD recommendations.

AFFECTED PEOPLE

HSAF seems to believe that sustainabilitycan be achieved through preparing a hostof detailed assessments rather than byrecognising the rights of dam-affected com-munities – dam affected people andSouthern civil society groups are not rep-resented at the HSAF negotiating table.

The Forum started a belated consultationprocess in January halfway through theHSAF process. A second consultation phasewill follow from August through October,near the end of the process. This is too lateto allow effective participation. If HSAF isseeking “broad endorsement” for a futureprotocol, its current process and its approachare non-starters. They will not bring aboutthe clarity and reliability which damfinanciers and investors are seeking, and willincrease conflict in the hydro power sector.

Civil society groups from the North andSouth continue to be interested in workingwith governments and the dam industry toadapt the WCD framework to national con-texts, and to implement it in practical plan-ning processes and projects. Civil society willhowever not accept an approach that Ibelieve falls behind generally acknowledgedinternational standards.

Peter Bosshard, Policy Director,International Rivers

[email protected]

IWP& DC

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