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a wide range of temperatures and humidity
environments, AGC thinks there may be
great potential for it to be widely adopted by
hydro facilities, based on the lack of alternative
biodegradable fuids that can withstand this
challenging environment.
The impact on U.S. hydropower
Within the utility industry, Avista has a long
history of innovation. Since being founded
on hydropower as Washington Water Power
in 1889, we have been regarded as one of the
greenest utilities in the nation, with a power
supply mix of more than 50% renewable
energy. Avista has spurred new technologies,
companies, processes and ways of thinking
about energy. While it may be unique for a
utility to take on research of this type, for
Avista it’s part of our DNA to be innovative
and environmentally-conscious.
To truly understand the potential impact
a breakthrough technology like this can have,
it’s important to remember the breadth of
hydroelectricity in the U.S. and the industry’s
potential growth, along with the importance
of clean water bodies across America for
recreational and business use.
According to the National Hydropower
Association and the Business Council for
Sustainable Energy, hydropower in the U.S.
provided a capacity of about 101,000 MW
from conventional hydro and pumped storage
facilities as of 2014. According to the Energy
Information Administration, hydropower
accounts for 7% of U.S. electric generation
as of 2013, representing 52% of renewable
generation that year. And according to the
Electric Power Supply Association, that’s
enough generating capacity to provide electricity to roughly 75 million to 101 million
American homes.
Te growth potential for hydropower is
immense. NHA notes that the U.S. hydropower industry could install 60,000 MW
of new capacity by 2025, all depending on
policy decisions. And it’s important to note
that this increase accounts for only 15% of the
total untapped hydropower resource potential in the U.S., indicating hydropower can
remain a growing renewable energy source
for many years.
So what does it all mean? It means
more hydropower could be developed and
installed across the U.S. And, with more
hydropower comes more risk for our water-
ways, unless petroleum-based oils are reduced
or eliminated from hydro plant equipment.
According to the Clean Water Action Plan,
each year Americans take more than 1. 8
billion trips to water destinations, largely for
recreation and activities like boating, swim-
ming or fshing. Owners and operators of
hydroelectric facilities must be able to manage
water quality — including the health of all
species in all water bodies — while “keeping
the lights on” for the rest of us.
If this new biodegradable oil performs as
we think it will, its use will, at a minimum, help
Avista continue an over one-hundred-year
tradition of providing safe, reliable power for
our customers while being a good steward of
our natural resources. ■
Steve Wenke is chief generation engineer with Avista
Utilities.
