Prefabricated Standard Modular Hydropower Installations for Low-cost Small Hydropower
- Littoral Power Systems, Inc., New Bedford, MA (United States)
- Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States)
- GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., Norwood, MA (United States)
- Alden Research Laboratory, Holden, MA (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
The goal of the present project was to investigate the potential savings in greenfield hydropower project costs across sites having vastly different characteristics. Littoral Power Systems, Inc. (LPS) undertook the project described herein to explore the promise of Standard Modular Hydropower (SMH) to transform the processes of site identification, conceptual design, detailed design, and construction planning to support low- cost, environmentally attractive development of small hydropower facilities at new stream- reaches. This report includes descriptions of the work to develop these processes, the resulting facility designs achieved using these processes and the projected economics. Installation cost estimates for the resulting conceptual greenfield facility design at two different locations come in at $$\$$3,419$/kW for Balcony Falls and $$\$$2,124$/kW for LPS 566. The installation time from site preparation to commissioning-ready is estimated to be 58 weeks for the conceptual facility at Balcony Falls and 42 weeks for the conceptual facility at LPS 566. A real challenge to any hydropower facility – not only the two cases studied here – is that environmental and social conditions can change, and as such, the facility may be required to change. The h-Modulor modules connect uniquely and are structurally independent, enabling site configurations to be changed on the fly, as needed. These results show that LPS's h-Modulor SMH approach delivers an attractive balance between efficiency, economics, and environmental sustainability for small hydro greenfield sites.
- Research Organization:
- Littoral Power Systems, Inc., New Bedford, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0008778
- OSTI ID:
- 1997317
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-LPS-EE8778
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Chicopee Hydroelectric Project. Feasibility assessment
Cost-Disruptive, Low Impact, Modular Form Factor Low-Head Hyropower System