Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 1.10 Grand Coulee Dam is a
hydroelectric gravity damon the Columbia River
in the U.S. state of Washington. The dam
supplies four power stations with an installed
capacity of 6.81GW. It is the largest electric
power-producing facility in the United States
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:
Grand_Coulee_Dam.jpg.).
MonteDamon the Xingu, a tributary of the Amazon, has been approved (http://www.
bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13614684.) by Brazil. The damwould be 3.7 mi
long and the power would be 11 GW. The Itaipu Dambetween Brazil and Paraguay is
rated at 14GW. From 20 0.7GW generators, two 600 kV HVDC lines, each about
800 km long, carry the DC power to Sao Paolo, where terminal equipment converts to
60Hz. It provides 90% of electric power in Paraguay and 19% of power in Brazil
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itaipu_Dam.).
Turbines can be made with the capacity to be reversed and to pump water back to
the reservoir when demand is low. This storage capability is called pumped hydro
and ef
ciency in the pumping mode can be 80%. Capacity on the American and
Canadian sides of the Niagara River totals 5.03GW, of which 0.374 GW is pumped
storage/power producing units (pumped hydro) such as shown in the next
gure.
The pumped storage facility Carters Dam in Georgia provides a maximum power
output of 500MWduring peak demand conditions. Figure 1.11 shows the generators
and power distribution from this large water reservoir created by an earthen
dam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U.S.ACE_Carters_Dam_powerhoU.S.e.jpg
(http://www.niagarafrontier.com/power.html).).
