| OCR Text |
Show Rewinding generators increases power at hydro plants As mounting energy demands continue con-tinue to face Americans, the Water and Power Resources Service is embarking on a program to increase energy capacity at its hydroelectric powerplants, Regional Director Bill Plummer said last week. "The program involves rewinding existing ex-isting generators to maintain perfor- mance reliability and to increase capacity. Rewinding existing generators requires removing old electrical elec-trical coils of copper wire that are insulated in-sulated and replacing them with new copper and insulation," Plummer said. Since over the years insulation deteriorates, to avoid any kind of power outage or a break in the system, it is necessary to rewind generators, and the additional benefit is that the capacity capaci-ty to generate may be - increased. Rewinding generators can increase the electrical output in some instances by as much as one-third. A significant cost savings per unit of power is realized when generators are rewound rather than when new ones are installed. A generator that has been rewound re-wound can provide more electricity at a cost of approximately $22 per kilovoltampere (kVA) compared to $600 or $700 per kVA when a new generator has to be installed. Three power generators at Glen Canyon Ca-nyon Dam in Arizona have been the first to undergo this rewinding process in the Upper Colorado Region. The remaining re-maining five will undergo rewinding in the future. Tests monitoring the success suc-cess of the rewinding effort were completed com-pleted November 20, 1979. Results indicated in-dicated that rewinding efforts have been successful and that capacity has been increased from a manufacturers' rating of 125 megawatts to 143.7 megawatts. Inconvenience to power customers is avoided by scheduling the outages and by coordinating with other utilities. This enables other members of the power systejn to meet the demand for electricity when these generators are down for rewinding. The Water and Power Resources Service Ser-vice is also studying the possibility of rewinding generators at Flaming Gorge Dam in Utah and Blue Mesa Dam in Colorado. These generators are routinely tested to plan for maintenance and to ensure' that they continue to function properly. |
