112-Year-Old Hydro Plant Gets Modern Makeover
Brookefield Renewable Power is restoring the old hydroelectric
plant at Glen Ferris.
The State Journal
15 June 2011
By Jim Ross
GLEN FERRIS -- For more than a hundred years, water from the Kanawha
River flowed through generators at Glen Ferris, providing electricity
for nearby industry.
In 2005, those generators went silent. Later this year and early next
year, they will turn again, providing renewable power for the region,
Brookfield Renewable Power, a Canadian company, acquired the old Elkem
Metals power plant in Fayette County in 2006, a year after it ceased
production following 106 years in service. The plant is small by many
standards, with eight turbines producing a total of 5.45 megawatts,
enough to power about 4,500 homes.
The Glen Ferris plant consists of two buildings. The older one, on the
northern shore, was built in the mid- to late-19th century. It contains
six small turbines. The newer one, with two larger generators, was
built in 1917.
Brookfield is investing $25 million to retrofit the old plant with new
machinery. Work began last year and is expected to be finished sometime
next year.
To avoid time-consuming problems with applying for permits that would
be necessary to remove the old buildings and put in new ones,
Brookfield decided to use the old buildings, the dam and the draft
tubes. The buildings were stripped of their old machinery and
electrical wiring. The older one received a new roof. A new access
bridge was built. New transformers, generator breakers and controls are
being installed.
It's a blending of old technology with new.
As with many hydroelectric projects that are built at existing dams or,
in this case, involve retrofitting and older project, engineers use
what is available and try to avoid changing the basic structures
already in place, said David Barnhart, general manager of Mid-America
operations for Brookfield.
"All these interfaces are engineering challenges," Barnhart said. "We
re-use as much as possible."
At present, the turbines are being rebuilt in Michigan. The larger ones
should be re-installed and generating electricity in December. The
smaller units should go back on line next year, Barnhart said.
While the old plant supplied electricity for specific industrial
operations in the Glen Ferris area, the new one will send its power
into the regional American Electric Power grid, Barnhart said. Power
lines will transmit electricity to AEP's nearby Kanawha River power
plant, where it will go into the grid, he said.
When the retrofitting is finished, the Glen Ferris power plant
operation will be controlled by a central control center near Boston.
The Montgomery office looks after the maintenance needs of the Glen
Ferris and Hawks Nest hydroelectric plants along with one plant in
Maryland, one in Pennsylvania and two in Minnesota.
White & Reader Associates of Central Square, N.Y., is overseeing
the rebuilding. Ed White, president of White & Reader, said he
admires the engineering that went into the original plant.
"Either you like the old girls or you don't. I like the older plants,"
he said.