AN AMATEUR’S INVOLVEMENT IN HYDRO POWER

Lilliwaup Main House

Tail race returning water from the powerhouse to pool beneath falls

Flow of water in Lilliwaup Creek changes dramatically with the Season.

Our permit requires that we shut down if flow is less than 5 CFS

Creek flow in late summer & autumn

Late spring early summer

Winter Flow

But the falls get even bigger

The powerhouse has seven gensets, each rated at 200kW.

Turbines, supplied by Cornell in 1984, require 11 cfs anda head of 275 ft (119psi) to operate at capacity.

When the 42” penstock enters the powerhouse, a manifold pipes it into seven 12” pipes to each turbine.

The turbine floor is compact to a fault.

Turbines and Generators in Power House

In 2002 a landslide under-mined the flume which conveys water from Gate-house to Screen House.

It was necessary to build a truss to support the flume.

Truss to support concrete flume after landslide

We operated successfully until late December 2005, when another more serious slide occurred.

Jan. 2006 After the devastating slide

Fallen Truss

It was a very demoralizing event.

And a costly one.

For six years I did nothing.

Then the FERC called:

“Rebuild or the permit to operate your hydro plant will be cancelled”.

Installing the 48” HDPE Flume

Inserting the Flume into the Screen House

FPI Screen being installed

Earthworks above MSI Wall

View of MSI Wall from below

Another view of the completed wall with water flowing from the gate house

View from the top

End result:- An excellent rebuild but much too expensive to justify the investment on economics.- $0.033 per kWh too low for small hydro with high fixed costs.- In 2016, Revenue $200,000 at 49% capacity factor.- Annual Return on Investment = 2%- But: Psychic Return: HUGE