It's Time for Some Due Diligence on Global Warming Claims Aug 29, 2009
I guess first off that no one pointed out that up here in the Pacific Northwest we get 80% of our electricity from hydropower. Secondly, there is no quantifiable evidence that such activities will have any discernable effect on climate cycles one way or the other. (Energy Pulse, CO)
China cooperates with developing nations to address climate change, bilateral trade Aug 27, 2009
"All nations can benefit from China's growth and development," Yin said, citing the Three Gorges Dam hydropower generation project on the Yangtze River, which has created work for foreign companies such as Alstom of France, ABB of Switzerland, Kvaerner of Norway, General Electric of the United States and Siemens of Germany. Editor: Li Wucheng. (Xinhuanet, China)
Klamath water user group makes deceitful claims Aug 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 10:49 PM PDT The Klamath Water Users Association leaders claim of PacificCorp s private property rights to demolish Klamath River Hydropower Dams is deceitful. PacificCorp didn t propose demolishing them. (Klamath Falls Herald & News, OR)
India's farmers struggle without crucial monsoon rains Aug 26, 2009
" Fresh rainfall may prove more helpful to winter-sown crops such as wheat and rapeseed, which depend heavily on water from reservoirs. Indeed, the government is encouraging farmers to plant more winter crops to mitigate the effects of an awful monsoon. Economists look to the skies The country's economy remains closely tied to its fickle summer rains, even though its technology boom makes more headlines. Agriculture accounts for 18 percent of the country's total gross domestic product. But more... (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
On the march to do business in Myanmar Aug 26, 2009
Asia World currently has contracts to build several hydropower projects, including the Myit Sone dam on a tributary of the Irrawaddy River north of Mytikyina. It is known to have strong links to China. (Asia Times Online)
Energy firm plans hydroelectric dam on Mon Aug 26, 2009
It s been a little more than two months since , the firm behind the Super Panda, filed a preliminary permit application with FERC to study the possibility of putting a hydropower plant at Lock No. 3 in Elizabeth ... Hydro Green started out as a hydrokinetic company in 2003, developing damless hydropower through turbines in water ... Today, it s also focused on traditional hydropower installed at locks and dams, which draws its energy from the change in water levels. (Pittsburgh Business Times, PA)
India's failing monsoon: It never rains Aug 25, 2009
A bad monsoon can also reduce power production: hydropower provides a quarter of India s electricity. In 2002, when monsoon rains were down by 19%, GDP growth slowed from 5. (The Economist)
Pakistan seeks US, China aid on energy Aug 25, 2009
Zardari said Chinese investments were needed in the agriculture, hydropower and energy sectors, with Pakistan seeking to increase its energy capacity by 10,000 megawatts by 2015. During the president's three previous visits to China, a number of agreements and MoUs were signed to strengthen economic ties. (Asia Times Online)
El Dorado to get hydropower projects Aug 25, 2009
El Dorado County to get hydropower projects - Sacramento Business Journal ... El Dorado County to get hydropower projects ... The Board of Directors Monday approved two hydropower projects in the district's 2009-2013 capital improvement program, and authorized funding for the projects design phases. (Sacramento Business Journal, CA)
Africa: New Threats Aggravate Continent's Water Crisis Aug 24, 2009
The Manantali Dam, located inside western Mali, was constructed for hydropower, irrigation and navigation benefits to be distributed across all three countries. The scale of benefits derived, as well as the perceived fairness of the benefit sharing arrangement and of the solidarity between countries, has sustained substantive cooperation and a strong river basin organisation on the Senegal River, the authors conclude. (allAfrica.com)
Hydropower on Prince of Wales hits red tape Aug 22, 2009
Prince of Wales communities awaiting hydropower ... While Southeast's larger cities have access to hydropower, many of its smaller communities are still struggling with crippling energy costs. (Juneau Empire)
Russia blast prompts major review Aug 21, 2009
"The tragic events at the Sayano-Shushenskaya have clearly shown how much we need to do to ensure safety of hydropower facilities," said Mr Putin. "We need to conduct a thorough check of all strategic and vital parts of infrastructure and work out a plan for their regular upgrade.". (BBC News -- Europe)
Geico to keep growing in WNY Aug 20, 2009
6-megawatt allocation of low-cost hydropower to Geico as part of the public-sector incentive package. The allocation, which runs through 2013, will save the company $1. (Buffalo Business First, NY)
Uganda: New Hydropower Project Heralds New Era Aug 18, 2009
Nairobi The 700 Megawatt Karuma hydropower project kicks off this week after the successful selection of a consultancy firm to carry out feasibility studies ... 2 billion hydropower project 150 kilometres downstream of Owen Falls will be announced in the course of the week ... The government has also abandoned its intention of wholly financing the Karuma hydropower project, preferring instead to go for a public-private partnership, although it will still draw funds from the ring-fenced Energy... (allAfrica.com)
Africa: World Bank Chief Urges Reforms, Rule of Law Aug 18, 2009
While visiting the Lake Kivu Methane Gas to Power Pilot plant, Zoellick sought to learn more about the importance for African countries of the potential for hydropower, solar, wind power and other new renewable resources within the continent's energy portfolio. The rural poor form the bulk of the 535 million Africans currently without access to electricity. (allAfrica.com)
Emerging-Market Borrowing Costs Rise to Highest This Month, Led by Russia Aug 18, 2009
Russias biggest hydropower utility, dropped as much as 8. 3 percent before being suspended in Moscow trading after at least eight people died during an accident at a plant in Siberia. (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
To Ethiopia and back Aug 18, 2009
He added that much of the electricity is provided by hydropower. It has been quite dry in the area so electricity is limited to 18 hours with electricity, 18 without. (Storm Lake Pilot Tribune, IA)
Datang Power Announces 2009 Interim Results Aug 17, 2009
5MW were attributable to coal-fired units, hydropower units and wind power units, respectively. In addition, the Group continued to push ahead its expansion in power-related upstream and downstream projects. (PR Newswire)
6 die in power plant accident in Russia Aug 17, 2009
MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and eight others injured in a hydropower plant accident in Russia's Siberia on Monday. The accident occurred at the Sayano-Shushenksaya plant on the Yenisei River in East Siberia, the Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing Dmitry Kudryavtsev from the regional Emergency Situations Ministry. (Xinhuanet, China)
Six People Killed as Pipes Burst at Russia's Biggest Hydroelectric Plant Aug 17, 2009
Six Killed as Pipes Burst at Russias Biggest Hydropower Plant - Bloomberg ... Six Killed as Pipes Burst at Russias Biggest Hydropower Plant. (Bloomberg -- Germany)
Editorial: Doing away with dams Aug 16, 2009
Dam defenders note that hydropower is produced without emissions. And flood control and growing water needs remain issues that are suited for the water-controlling structures. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Opinion)
Once a leader, state's been eclipsed on renewables Aug 16, 2009
After hydropower, it was oil that put California on the world's energy map, most of it in the Los Angeles area. It wasn't until an oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast in 1969 that Californians turned their backs on this industry, though petroleum still remains our primary source of energy due to our freeways, suburban sprawl and addiction to automobiles. (Sacramento Bee -- Opinion)
The Conversation: Conditions ripe for climate change brawl Aug 16, 2009
5 billion string of power lines, towers and substations from northeast California to Sacramento and the Bay Area a move that would make it possible to import energy from existing hydropower facilities, and geothermal and wind energy projects throughout the Pacific Northwest, California and Nevada. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District looked to the project by the Transmission Agency of Northern California, known as the TANC, as a critical step to meet new state and district renewable energy... (Sacramento Bee -- Opinion)
China's power generating capacity tops 800 GW: report Aug 16, 2009
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's installed power generating capacity exceeds 800 million killowatts (800 gigawatts) with a new hydropower generator coming on line, state media reported on Sunday ... The latest addition came from the no. 6 generator at Laxiwa Hydropower Station, the country's largest hydropower station on the Yellow River, which has started running, Xinhua news agency reported. (Scientific American)
Africa: Four Presidents Call on U.S. for Partnership, Not Patronage Aug 13, 2009
"The deficit can be quickly addressed by catalyzing private partnerships to raise equity finance and by increasing funding to companies that want to invest. In addition, only a quarter of Africa's population has access to electricity. Public-private investments in hydropower would offer a carbon-neutral solution. "Loan guarantees by the U.S. Export-Import Bank for American firms wishing to invest in Africa amounted to $400 million in 2007. That year, China's Export-Import Bank guaranteed loans... (allAfrica.com)
Court gives GIPA victory Aug 12, 2009
A federal appeals court provided a victory for Green Island in the village s ongoing quest to build a hydropower plant on the Mohawk River. The Monday ruling is the latest step in a years-long battle between Green Island and , a Canadian company that operates a power station below the Cohoes Falls. (Albany Business Review, NY)
New Study Sheds Light On The Growing U.S. Wind Power Market Aug 12, 2009
Berkeley Lab s contributions to this report were funded by the Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy. by Wiser, R., and M. Bolinger. (Science Daily)
Oxygen change killing fish at Thurmond Lake Aug 11, 2009
However, their numbers aren't substantial enough to trigger a shutdown of the dam's hydropower turbines ... If herring entrainment reaches 5,000 fish per hour, it would halt hydropower production. (The Augusta Chronicle)
Africa: Emerging Economies Hold Promise for Continent [analysis] Aug 11, 2009
Meanwhile, rising exports to emerging economies of oil, iron ore, cocoa and other commodities have boosted Africa's earnings, and companies from Brazil, China, India and Russia are building more roads, hydropower plants and refineries across the continent. Africa's remarkable record of economic growth in recent years has to an important degree been underwritten by the explosive growth of countries like China, Martyn Davies, director of the Centre for Chinese Studies at South Africa's... (allAfrica.com)
Efficient power sector players at lower valuations than NHPC Aug 10, 2009
The net proceeds from the fresh issue are to be used for part-financing the construction and development costs of certain identified hydropower projects. After an analysis of companys financial performance and valuations and comparing the same with its peers, the issue appears to be over-priced. (India Times)
Dam operators to fly Idaho rivers, map salmon hot spots Aug 10, 2009
BOISE Federal hydropower officials will buzz two Idaho mountain rivers this week with helicopter-mounted cameras typically used for tracking illegal immigrants or finding dangerous transmission-line hotspots. For this mission, the cameras will be pointed at endangered salmon spawning grounds in an effort to pinpoint the spots where habitat restoration would do the most good. (Longview Daily News, WA)
REC general manager Rich Bauer wears several hats Aug 10, 2009
Bauer is also responsible for much of the cooperative s engineering work, having earned an electrical engineering degree from Penn State University (Somerset Daily American, PA)
24 South St. Notebook Aug 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 1:50 PM EDT. The address for Auburn's Memorial City Hall on South Street is familiar to many follower's of the city's government and its political scene. (Auburn Citizen, NY)
Alternative energy has big land needs Aug 10, 2009
- 250 square miles of dammed-up water for hydropower, more than twice the size of Lake Thurmond. - 125 square miles for wind power, though it would have to be three times bigger to offset the fact that the wind doesn't blow a third of the time. (The Augusta Chronicle)
Monsoon deficit in critical crop week Aug 7, 2009
Low rains can also reduce water level at India's main reservoirs, which are important for hydropower, that accounts for a quarter of India's generation capacity, and also essential for irrigating winter-sown wheat and rapeseed. "The reservoirs level is not yet satisfactory," the scientist said. (India Times)
China's energy demand to be mainly self-satisfied: senior planner Aug 7, 2009
He also stressed the potential of China's hydropower, nuclear power, wind power and other new resources. Citing the research of energy experts, Zhang said "China's energy demand will keep rising, and it will mainly be satisfied by the domestic supply.". (Xinhuanet, China -- Business)
Growing thirst Aug 7, 2009
The World Bank supports the NBI, which was set up in 1997, and has already led to co-operative work on hydropower and irrigation schemes. "The countries recognise that, without co-operation, if you add climate change and growing populations the future is a very unpredictable, risky one," says World Bank senior water adviser David Grey. (BBC News -- Africa)
NHPC offers long term value to the investors: Sharekhan Aug 7, 2009
NHPC is a premier hydropower utility. The company currently has an installed capacity aggregating to 5,175MW and is looking to be a 20-gigawatt (GW) utility by 2020. (India Times)
Citys future may lie in hands of Ga. Power CEO Aug 7, 2009
It relies heavily on hydropower, and more importantly, it needs water from Lake Lanier to help cool its Plant Farley nuclear power plant. Because of his tenure in Alabama, Garrett didn t expect his new Georgia role would generate such criticism. (Atlanta Business Chronicle, GA)
Africa seeks partnership not patronage - African Presidents Aug 6, 2009
Public-private investments in hydropower would offer a carbon-neutral solution. "Loan guarantees by the U.S. Export-Import Bank for American firms wishing to invest in Africa amounted to $400 million in 2007. That year, China's Export-Import Bank guaranteed loans of $13 billion to Chinese firms investing in Africa. Closing this gap would do much to project Africa as an investment-grade destination.". (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Chance of teamwork on Lanier now dim Aug 6, 2009
The hydropower production that Judge Magnuson so highly values is what is known as peaking power, only produced a couple of times each day to meet the increased demand when we get up in the morning and come home in the evening. The rest of the time the flow through Buford Dam is minimal; about 600 cubic feet per second for most of the 24-hour day and 6,000 cubic feet per second during the peak power production, or 10 times the normal flow. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Vanishing Bolivian Glacier Ends Highest Ski Run, Threatens La Paz's Water Aug 6, 2009
5 billion a year to combat the effects of glacier retreat on its hydropower, said , head of Latin America climate-change projects for the. Even as governments prepare to meet at a UN-sponsored climate summit this December in Copenhagen, Perito Moreno glacier in neighboring Argentina and maritime glaciers in Alaska and Norway are defying trends worldwide and increasing in size. (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
Africa: Clinton's Remarks at Agoa Forum [document] Aug 6, 2009
From the geothermal resources of the Great Rift Valley, to the potential hydropower of the Congo River, to wind and solar options, new projects are beginning to come online. So there are so many concrete examples of the opportunities to be seized. (allAfrica.com)
Perdue lays out strategy to win water war to south Georgians Aug 6, 2009
Hydropower, navigation and flood control were the intended purposes, he said. Magnuson gave Georgia, Alabama and Florida three years to resolve two decades worth of litigation. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Metro)
Corps of Engineers making repairs on Big Cliff Dam gates Aug 5, 2009
Big Cliff Dam was completed in 1954 and has one generator that produces 18 megawatts of hydropower. Reader Comments The comments below are from readers of Democratherald. (Albany Democrat-Herald, OR)
Focus on amending Lanier statute Aug 3, 2009
Alabama and Florida contend that Lake Lanier metro Atlanta s main source of water was created for three primary purposes: hydropower generation, river navigation and flood control. Magnuson ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers was illegally releasing water from the lake to meet the needs of metro Atlanta, which has an effect on industries and endangered marine life downstream. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Metro)
Report: Landslides kill 10 people in Bangladesh Jul 31, 2009
The dead were employees of an engineering company who were working on a hydropower project in Sichuan's Kangding county where the landslide occurred, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The 50 still missing were mainly migrant workers, their family members and other staff who had been repairing a section of national highway, Xinhua said, citing Xiang Luo, the head of the Communist Party in Kangding. (Fresno Bee -- Local)
Dams in China Turn the Mekong Into a River of Discord Jul 29, 2009
The Mekong River Commission (MRC), an inter-governmental agency formed in 1995 by the four lower basin countries estimates that the sustainable hydropower potential of the lower basin alone is a massive 30,000 megawatts ... Since the end of 2008, when the river diversion channel of the Xiaowan hydropower dam was closed by Chinese engineers, the reservoir has been filling with water, paving the way to start the first electricity generating turbine in September ... Conversely, releases from the... (YaleGlobal Online Magazine, CT)
N.C. House Committee Votes Against Government Takeover of Alcoa's Yadkin Project Jul 29, 2009
The Yadkin Project, one of 22 privately-owned hydropower projects in North Carolina, is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Yadkin Project received a 50-year license in 1958, and APGI is currently seeking a new long-term license. (PR Newswire)
Canton Seeks To Revive Hydropower Along Farmington River Jul 28, 2009
Until 1966, it and another facility upstream in the Collinsville section housed the engines in an impressive hydropower operation, using the water flowing over two dams to generate electricity for the Collins Co., at one time the world's largest maker of axes and machetes ... A permit for an identical hydropower plan for the two dams that was issued nearly a decade ago and that has since lapsed contained recommendations from the DEP that its staff members think could be outdated ... "Hydropower... (FOX61, CT)
Letters to the editor (7/27/09) Jul 27, 2009
These are two of five minuscule, seasonal hydropower projects proposed on tributaries of the Kenai River. Industrializing the natural state of the Kenai River and its surroundings is contrary to two decades of protective public policy we have helped to establish and enforce. (Anchorage Daily News)
Decades before water wars, Buford Dam won city support, not finances Jul 26, 2009
The river would become more navigable, and the dam would blanket the region with cheap hydropower ... Buford Dam had been in the making since the 1920s, when Congress asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to examine hydropower projects on national waterways, including those in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Metro)
Landslide in China Jul 24, 2009
On Thursday, the heavy rains triggered a landslide at the Changheba hydropower plant in Kangding, temporarily blocking a river ... The rapid rivers of Sichuan are packed with hydropower dams. (MSNBC -- International)
The city of Klamath Falls is looking into converting methane from its wastewater treatment plant into fuel. What other renewable energy ideas should local government and businesses be exploring? Jul 24, 2009
CommonSense wrote on Jul 23, 2009 8:33 PM:" How about Hydropower? By far the most cost effective renewable power there is.Not only is hydropower the only renewable way of generating power that is currently cost effective, it can currently be produced cheaper than what most of us pay for electicity. What a concept! ". Kate wrote on Jul 23, 2009 12:43 PM:" Renewables are good, but using less energy is the best.You can save money and stay warm in winter (and cool in summer) by insulating your home.... (Klamath Falls Herald & News, OR)
Klamath green focus a natural for area; deserves local, state supportDevelopment zone could help county attract new employment Jul 24, 2009
Oh please wrote on Jul 23, 2009 8:49 PM:" The biggest hydropower producer is the John C. Boyle dam and it is in Oregon - so to "The Dams" posting below - do some research yourself.It is absolutely true that the Klamath County Commissioners need to stand up to the Tulelake interests running the KBRA and act like adults and stand up for keeping the John C. Boyle dam and the hydropower it produces. Then they can tout all the "green energy " they want to in this County, but if they stand idly by and... (Klamath Falls Herald & News, OR)
Siemens, ABB Green Power Orders Boosted by China's $585 Billion Stimulus Jul 23, 2009
Bigger than a two-story family house, they help limit energy loss as Chinese utilities move power from inland hydropower plants to coastal cities. Standard networks operate at 500 kilovolts. (Bloomberg -- Germany)
Oxygen pump to help Thurmond Lake fishing Jul 23, 2009
The higher costs are mainly because of an improved design sanctioned by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which has built several of the oxygen systems at its hydropower projects ... Russell's four reversible turbines, which can pump water from Thurmond Lake back into Russell for reuse in hydropower generation, have been shown to raise water temperature if operated all at once during warm weather months. (The Augusta Chronicle)
It's a bumpy road back for Lao exiles Jul 23, 2009
3% between 2003 and 2008, driven by mining, hydropower and commercial agriculture activity, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) ... 5% in 2009, as key exports of clothing, hydropower and minerals fall in line with the global slump ... Because of this, the ADB wrote in a recent report that the Laos government lacks the capacity to carry out reform policies and recommended that revenues from mining and hydropower projects be invested in education and training to make up for "shortages of... (Asia Times Online)
Bonneville Power Administration raising rates Jul 23, 2009
The hydropower BPA sells makes up 40 percent of the energy consumed in the Northwest, and it owns three-quarters of the transmission wires that send electricity from power plants to customers as far away as California. Its 541-page order for setting future rates to public and private utilities also brought new attention to the challenge it faces in absorbing new wind power. (KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8, OR -- Business)
AmerenUE launches new plans to boost conservation, renewables Jul 23, 2009
Renewable resources are defined as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and hydropower. To help comply with the new law, AmerenUE has signed an agreement to purchase 102 megawatts of wind power from a wind farm in Iowa. (Fulton Sun, MO)
The Arctic: Not a barren country Jul 23, 2009
Although Mr Kleist has confident plans to develop tourism, as well as hydropower plants to take advantage of meltwater running off the Greenlandic ice cap, the locals today rely on Danish dole worth some $11,000 per person per year. A modern way of life in the far north is necessarily costly. (The Economist)
> read more Jul 22, 2009
Montreal is in Quebec, whose vast hydropower resources make it a net energy exporter. The respondent claims that Hydro-Quebec encourages everyone to use as many lights as possible. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Pelosis Policy Director to Step Down Jul 21, 2009
This year alone, Meltzer is listed in Senate disclosure records as lobbying for a slew of energy interests (the American Public Gas Association, the Biomass Power Association, Climax Global Energy, Exxon Mobil Corp. and the National Hydropower Association, among others), financial services firms (including Charles Schwab nc. Citigroup Management Corp., Fortress Investment Group and Pacific Capital Bancorp) and health care interests (the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Johnson on, the... (Roll Call)
Analysis: Fish and energy needs clash in Midwest Jul 20, 2009
But the change also would reduce the capacity to produce hydropower at a plant owned by The Empire District Electric Co. on Lake Taneycomo near Branson. The federal Southwestern Power Administration proposed in January to reimburse Empire $41 million for the lost energy-production capacity. (Pine Bluff Commercial, AR)
Firm reconstructs Stuyvesant Falls Hydroelectric Plant Jul 20, 2009
"He said that FERC needs to be more supportive of municipal hydropower. Around the country, 600 to 800 megawatts of additional capacity could be realized from "rehabs" alone, but action by FERC is needed, he said.The plant's near death experience in the 1990s also included an unsuccessful attempt to remove the top of the dam. According to Grenci, FERC, NIMO, and the US Fish and Wildlife all supported removal after a group called American Canoeist "wrote a letter saying they could traverse... (Catskill Daily Mail, NY)