The announcement was made during the Hydrovision conference taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The project includes refurbishment of powerhouse generators 51, 52, and 54 (3 x 145 MVA) as well as engineering and site work. The project will improve the nameplate output of the generators from 166 MVA (generators 51 and 53) and 170 MVA (generator 52) to 190 MVA, reducing power loses and enhancing grid stability.
The project will be managed by GE Renewable Energy's teams based in Denver, Colorado, and Brossard, Canada. Onsite work on the generators covered in this project is set to begin in July, 2019, and is scheduled to be completed by May, 2022.
GE Renewable Energy was also selected earlier this year by the Eugene Water & Electric Board, a public utility serving the Eugene, Oregon, area, to rehabilitate two 50 MW turbine-generator units on the Carmen Smith Hydroelectric Project. The work on the first unit is expected to be completed by the end of 2020 and second unit will be completed by the end of 2021.
Pierre Marx, General Manager for GE Renewable Energy's Hydro business in North America, said, "It is more important than ever to keep the US hydro fleet operating at full capacity given its critical role in maintaining stable and efficient electric service while enabling the addition of other renewable power sources like wind and solar."
According to the Department of Energy's Hydropower Vision report U.S. hydropower could grow from its current 101 GW to nearly 150 GW of combined electricity generating and storage capacity by 2050. The DOE report notes that existing hydropower facilities have high value within the U.S. energy sector, providing low-cost, low-carbon, renewable energy as well as flexible grid support services.
