From The Watch (Kati O’Hare):
In about a month, district officials are hopeful they it will be able to break ground on the project, which, upon completion, will create about $1 million annually in revenues and produce enough electricity for 3,000 houses each year.
The 8-megawatt project will contain two turbines and two generators — a 1.8-mw system that will operate in the winter months during lower flows, and a 7.2-mw system for the higher-flow irrigation months.
“Winter flows are significantly less than our summer flows, and we can’t get a generator that would operate efficiently for that wide range,” Tri-County Water General Manager Mike Berry said.
The two different systems, both of which can operate during peak flows, is the most efficient method of capturing energy from the dam, he said.
Tri-County Water has gone through the necessary steps to get the project underway, and is now waiting for the completion of just two items before construction begins: the design plans need final approval from the Bureau of Reclamation, and interconnection agreement — to allow the power that’s captured to be transferred onto the grid — must be reached between Tri-County Water and Tri-State Generation and Transmission.