The hydrokinetic power station, which sits entirely within USACE property and in a no public access zone, will feature two turbines with a nameplate capacity of 100kW each. The first of the Hydro+ units was installed in December 2008 and early January 2009. The second turbine, a beta unit with increased power output and efficiency, will be installed late this summer or early fall.
Once fully operational, Hydro Green Energy will perform comprehensive fish survival tests, monitor all critical aspects of water quality, study avian interactions and implement a zebra mussel control programme, some at the request of the National Park Service.
Hydro Green Energy is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the hydrokinetic turbines. Power sales from the turbines’ output to Xcel Energy will be shared between the City of Hastings and Hydro Green Energy.
Some key facts of the project include:
• Hydro Green Energy’s equipment will generate as much as 250kW, representing a 5.7% increase in renewable energy generation at the existing site.
• After a year of pre-filing stakeholder consultations, the City of Hastings filed a Non-Capacity Amendment (existing project modification/new generating equipment) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in April 2008.
• Led by Mayor Paul Hicks, the Hastings City Council unanimously approved the project on four occasions, validating the unique and creative public-private partnership of this groundbreaking project. The cooperation of USACE was also critical to the project’s success.
• Hydro Green Energy fully complied with FERC requirements for stakeholder outreach and agency consultation, and covered all costs and technical work associated with the NCA. Because of this, FERC strongly reaffirmed its decision to license the project in February of 2009.
• The project resulted in the creation of 61 jobs in seven states over the last two years.
• In May 2009, Hydro Green Energy was awarded the President’s Award by the national-hydropower-association (nha). This prestigious award is given to an NHA member company that has ‘blazed new pathways to strengthen and invigorate the hydropower industry’. Commenting on the award, NHA Executive Director Linda Church Ciocci said the Hastings project “opens the door to a whole new range of technologies and applications in the hydro sector. It marks a great step for Hydro Green Energy and a great milestone for our industry”. Church Ciocci noted that the project also demonstrates that hydro power facilities of all sizes can offer important economic, energy, and environmental benefits.
View of the Hastings site
Visit www.hgenergy.com for further details on the scheme
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