Bureau of Reclamation
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PowerHenry Ford, J.P. Morgan, and FDR: Big Players in U.S. Hydropower History
When you study the history of hydropower, you expect to learn about people like British-American engineer James Francis, who developed the first modern hydro turbine in 1849. A testament to his genius is that the Francis turbine continues to be the most widely used water turbine in the world today. Or you assume American inventor […]
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Press Releases
Grand Coulee Dam overhaul project ensures another 30 years of clean, renewable hydropower in the Pacific Northwest
GRAND COULEE, Wash. – Today, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration announced the completion of the major overhaul of hydroelectric power generating units 22, 23 and 24 inside the Nathaniel “Nat” Washington Power Plant at Grand Coulee Dam. Located on the Columbia River about 90 miles west of Spokane, Wash., the Grand […]
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HydroDrought-Crippled Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Hydropower Plants Operating at Substantially Decreased Capacity
The iconic 2-GW Hoover Dam and 1.3-GW Glen Canyon Dam hydropower plants are operating at substantially reduced capacity, paralyzed by enduring drought conditions across the West, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has revealed. Weeks after USBR on Aug. 16 declared the first-ever federal water shortage at Lake Mead, the agency told POWER this week […]
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HydroHydropower Levels Under Careful Watch as Drought Ravages the West
Intensifying drought conditions in California and historically low water levels at the Oroville Dam on Aug. 5 forced the state’s Department of Water Resources (CDWR) to shut down the 644-MW Edward Hyatt Power Plant—the fourth largest energy producer of all California’s hydroelectric facilities. Similar conditions across the West are prompting a careful watch over hydropower facilities.
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HydroOptimizing Kaplan Turbine Efficiency with Minimal Cost, Effort, and Time
When the blades of individual Kaplan turbines are not continuously adjusted to achieve peak efficiency, the result is non-optimal performance and unnecessarily high mortality of downstream migrating fish
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CoalCompanies End Effort to Buy Navajo Generating Station
The companies negotiating to purchase the largest coal-fired power plant in the southwestern U.S. have ended their pursuit, which means the 2,250-MW Navajo Generating Station (NGS) near Page, Arizona, remains scheduled to close by year-end 2019. Avenue Capital, a New York-based global investment firm focused on distressed assets, and Chicago-based Middle River Power on September […]
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Coal
Potential Navajo Station Operator—Less Capacity Equals More Profit
The possible new operator of the largest coal-fired power plant in the western U.S. told Arizona regulators this week the company would run the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) at less than half its installed generation capacity in order to maintain profitability. An official for Illinois-based Middle River Power (MRP) also said the plant would operate […]