Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...
Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ... Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...
Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative Renewable Energy Technology Assessments 3.0 Renewable Energy Technology Options Cost and Performance Characteristics Hydroelectric generation is usually regarded as a mature technology that is unlikely to advance. Turbine efficiency and costs have remained somewhat stable; however, construction techniques and costs continue to change. Capital costs are highly dependent on site characteristics and vary widely. Table 3-18 has ranges for performance and cost estimates for hydro projects. These values are for representative comparison purposes only. Capacity factors are highly resource dependent and can range from 10 to more than 90 percent. Capital costs also vary widely with site conditions. To be able to predict specific performance and cost, site and river resource data would be required. Table 3-18. Hydroelectric Technology Characteristics. Performance Typical Duty Cycle Varies with resource Net Plant Capacity, MW 0.5-10 Capacity Factor, percent 40-60 Economics Capital Cost, $/kW 1,700-5,700 Fixed O&M, $/kW-yr 14-29 Variable O&M, $/MWh 3-6 Levelized Cost, $/MWh 36-109 Technology Status Commercial Status Commercial Installed US Capacity, MW 79,842 Kauai Potential Moderate Environmental Impacts The damming of rivers for small and large scale hydro applications may result in significant environmental impacts. The first issue involves the migration of fish and disruption of spawning habits. Minimum flows must be maintained in the waterway. For reservoir projects, one of the few viable abatements of this issue is construction of “fish ladders” to aid the fish in bypassing the dam when they swim upstream to spawn. The second issue involves flooding existing valleys that often contain wilderness areas, residential areas, or archeologically significant remains. There are also concerns about the consequences of disrupting the natural flow of water downstream and disrupting the natural course of nature. 21 March 2005 3-44 Black & Veatch
Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative Renewable Energy Technology Assessments 3.0 Renewable Energy Technology Options More positively, reservoirs resulting from dams can be valuable recreation areas, and dams assist in flood control efforts, thereby preventing economic hardship and loss of life. Many environmental groups object to the broad definition of hydroelectric resources as renewable. Numerous classification systems for hydro have developed in an attempt to distinguish “renewable” projects. Generally this distinction is based on size, although “low-impact,” low-head, and run-of-river plants are also often labeled renewable. Incremental hydro, which generally does not alter water flows any more than the existing hydro project, may also qualify as renewable. Kauai Outlook Hydroelectric generation is a fully commercial technology that already makes a significant contribution to the electric supply on Kauai. Hydro resources on Kauai are very good with consistently large rainfall and sharp elevation changes on many parts of the island. On the other hand, Hawaiian stream flows vary considerably throughout the year, making hydro an intermittent, “as available” resource. There has been considerable opposition to new hydro development on the island in the past 20 years. Several proposed projects, such as a project diverting the Hanalei River, have been strongly opposed by local residents forcing project developers to eventually abandon plans. However, with the recent increase in fossil fuel prices, there appears to be new interest in hydro development on the island, particularly projects involving upgrades to existing plants and addition of generation to agricultural irrigation systems. Such projects have little new impact on important watersheds and would presumably encounter less opposition than past proposals. It is difficult to develop a precise estimate of the developable hydro potential on the island due to the large variety of different schemes and the environmental and institutional obstacles facing many projects. A recently released broad survey of United States hydro potential performed by INEEL includes estimates of the cost and performance of new and upgrade hydro projects on Kauai. 34 The INEEL database was developed based on information from projects identified and proposed in the past. Although development of all of these sites is highly unlikely, the INEEL projects provide one view of the developable potential for hydro generation on the island. The total potential identified is about 60 MW producing 320 GWh annually. This could be viewed as an upper bound for the hydro potential on the island. See Table 3-19 for a list of the projects. 34 Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, “Hydropower Equipment Refurbishment or Replacement: Generation Increases and Associated Costs,” 2003. 21 March 2005 3-45 Black & Veatch
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Kaua’i <strong>Island</strong> <strong>Utility</strong> Cooperative<br />
<strong>Renewable</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> <strong>Assessments</strong><br />
3.0 <strong>Renewable</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> <strong>Technology</strong><br />
Options<br />
Cost and Performance Characteristics<br />
Hydroelectric generation is usually regarded as a mature technology that is<br />
unlikely to advance. Turbine efficiency and costs have remained somewhat stable;<br />
however, construction techniques and costs continue to change. Capital costs are highly<br />
dependent on site characteristics and vary widely.<br />
Table 3-18 has ranges for performance and cost estimates for hydro projects.<br />
These values are for representative comparison purposes only. Capacity factors are<br />
highly resource dependent and can range from 10 to more than 90 percent. Capital costs<br />
also vary widely with site conditions. To be able to predict specific performance and cost,<br />
site and river resource data would be required.<br />
Table 3-18. Hydroelectric <strong>Technology</strong> Characteristics.<br />
Performance<br />
Typical Duty Cycle Varies with resource<br />
Net Plant Capacity, MW 0.5-10<br />
Capacity Factor, percent 40-60<br />
Economics<br />
Capital Cost, $/kW 1,700-5,700<br />
Fixed O&M, $/kW-yr 14-29<br />
Variable O&M, $/MWh 3-6<br />
Levelized Cost, $/MWh 36-109<br />
<strong>Technology</strong> Status<br />
Commercial Status Commercial<br />
Installed US Capacity, MW 79,842<br />
<strong>Kauai</strong> Potential Moderate<br />
Environmental Impacts<br />
The damming of rivers for small and large scale hydro applications may result in<br />
significant environmental impacts. The first issue involves the migration of fish and<br />
disruption of spawning habits. Minimum flows must be maintained in the waterway. For<br />
reservoir projects, one of the few viable abatements of this issue is construction of “fish<br />
ladders” to aid the fish in bypassing the dam when they swim upstream to spawn.<br />
The second issue involves flooding existing valleys that often contain wilderness<br />
areas, residential areas, or archeologically significant remains. There are also concerns<br />
about the consequences of disrupting the natural flow of water downstream and<br />
disrupting the natural course of nature.<br />
21 March 2005 3-44 Black & Veatch