By James Cartledge The US Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a $3.4 million contract to Andritz Hydro Corporation to upgrade generating facilities at the Hoover Dam. Andritz Hydro, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, will design and manufacture a new “wide head” turbine runner for the Number Eight generating unit at the power plant on the Nevada side of the Colorado River. … Commissioner of Reclamation Michael L Connor said last week: “The new turbines will allow the generating units to operate more efficiently over a wider range of lake levels than the existing turbines do.” “That will enable Hoover Dam to generate power more efficiently as the water level behind the dam fluctuates between low and high elevations,” explained Commissioner Connor. … Currently designed to operate when water levels in the lake are down to 1,050 feet above mean sea level (MSL), the N-8 turbine will be upgraded to operate efficiently with water levels in Lake Mead are as low as 1,000 feet above MSL. The lake’s water level is currently around 1,099 feet above MSL, 120 feet below full operating levels, because the Hoover Dam has needed to allow more water into the Lower Colorado Basin to cope with the worst drought on record in the basin since the early 1900s.
Hoover Dam turbines set for upgrade to cope with drought via The Oil Drum
