Installation of the hydropower system at the Mill is finally underway. About a month ago we finalized our contract with Natel Energy who is supplying the hydro turbine. We have settled on a 30kW system, which should generate between 60 and 70 Megawatts per year. Since completing the contract, we have been hard at work preparing for delivery of the turbine, which will happen next March.
That prep work has included building the plinth on which the turbine will sit, constructing a weir that will maintain the water level in the tailrace, stabilizing the bank that forms one side of the tailrace, building temporary structures to hold the penstock in place until the thrust block is built around it, and sliding the 40-foot straight section of the penstock into place. Next steps will include: building the thrust block; installing the pond level sensor; installing the eel passage pipe above and below the dam, along with its gates and valves so it can be opened and closed to allow eels to pass downstream in the fall, and finishing the bank stabilization concrete work.
Then in the Spring, when the turbine and generator are delivered by Natel, the penstock will be attached to the opening in the dam at one end and the turbine at the other, and the final electrical hook-up will be completed.
That prep work has included building the plinth on which the turbine will sit, constructing a weir that will maintain the water level in the tailrace, stabilizing the bank that forms one side of the tailrace, building temporary structures to hold the penstock in place until the thrust block is built around it, and sliding the 40-foot straight section of the penstock into place. Next steps will include: building the thrust block; installing the pond level sensor; installing the eel passage pipe above and below the dam, along with its gates and valves so it can be opened and closed to allow eels to pass downstream in the fall, and finishing the bank stabilization concrete work.
Then in the Spring, when the turbine and generator are delivered by Natel, the penstock will be attached to the opening in the dam at one end and the turbine at the other, and the final electrical hook-up will be completed.
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