District sees dollars in water, gravity

Posted by Michael Swickard on Friday, April 20, 2012
As Bill Engvall says, "Here's your sign..."
NewsNM (Swickard) Are you kidding me? They announce this to the public without first talking to PNM? From KRQE-TV.com - ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A new device that may soon turn up in the Albuquerque area can create power out of an everyday occurrence. The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District monitors 1,200 miles of ditches, arroyos and canals in central New Mexico. Hundreds of spillways – where water drops from one level to another – are part of that network. District officials are now considering buying devices that can capture the energy created by water running down those spillways. The process is called small-scale hydroelectric power. The device works when water travels through turbines that power a generator and create electricity. That energy could then be sold back to the local power company. The conservancy district has not talked to PNM yet, but plans to do so. District Hydrologist David Gensler said the device would pay for itself in 10 to 15 years and could last about 50 years. Read more
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1 comments:

Paul said...

Why should an irrigation district be required to discuss their plans to generate power BEFORE investigating it? BTW, this concept is not new, and makes a lot of sense. EBID has been working on this for years:
http://www.ebid-nm.org/Static/PPS/EBID_Turbine.pdf

So has the State of Colorado:
http://www.applegategroup.com/sites/default/files/file-attachments/final_report.pdf
http://www.today.colostate.edu/story.aspx?id=5066

The implemention problems revolve around the equipment & installation cost recovery, FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) permitting requirements (unreasonably expensive and time-consuming for small producers), and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) requirements (must do studies to ensure that the fish in the irrigation canals are not harmed, etc).

April 20, 2012 at 10:37 AM

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