When two huge transformers were taken off a barge at the Snell Lock in Massena, NY, last year it marked both a beginning and an end. The event marked the culmination of a journey that took them halfway around the world and the beginning of a major life extension and modernization program for the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project located on New York’s border with Canada.
The new transformers — weighing in at 421,000 lbs. — were the first major pieces of equipment to arrive at the St. Lawrence-FDR site as part of a 15-year, $254-million upgrade project.
During that timeframe, the New York State Power Authority (NYPA) plans to renovate or replace most of the original equipment in the powerhouse known as the Robert Moses Power Dam. Funding for the multi-million dollar project will come from the sale of electricity.
The dam stretches 3,200 ft. or the equivalent of 10 football fields, across the St. Lawrence River, North America’s longest west-to-east waterway. A powerful energy source, it has an average flow of about 250,000 cu. ft. (more than 1.8 million gal.) a second.
“The St. Lawrence-FDR is one of the true crown jewels of New York State,” said C.D. “Rapp” Rappelyea, the Power Authority’s chairperson and chief executive officer. “The plan we have set in motion will polish that jewel, making the project almost brand new.
“New York Gov. George E. Pataki has stressed that it is our continuing obligation to protect this priceless asset and maximize its benefits for the people of the state,” Rappelyea continued. “By undertaking this project we will also reduce future operating and maintenance costs, improve productivity and reduce the probability of equipment failures. We’re going to make sure this project continues to run like a top for many years to come.”
The St. Lawrence-FDR Project is the United States portion of an international hydroelectric facility that spans the United States-Canadian border and produces some of the cleanest and cheapest power in North America. On the Canadian side it is known as the Robert H. Saunders Generating Station. At the heart of this project is the Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Power Dam, which first generated power in 1958.
Since it first produced power on July 17, 1958, the St. Lawrence-FDR project has generated more than 270 billion kilowatts of electricity. Its 800,000-kilowatt capacity could meet the combined electricity needs of the cities of Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse, NY.
Built cooperatively by the NYPA and Ontario Hydro, the dam’s 32-turbine generators are divided equally by the international border and are operated independently by the two utilities. The NYPA’s 16 generating units can produce more than 900,000 kilowatts of electricity, more than enough to light a city the size of Washington, D.C.
The renewal plan calls for replacing the 16 hydroelectric turbines on the American side. This project is the result of a comprehensive review conducted by a Power Authority team formed in 1996. The team was charged with assessing equipment life expectations, operations and maintenance requirements and refurbishment options.
The modernization program will enable the St. Lawrence-FDR project to produce more energy from the same amount of water. Each of the new turbines will be up to nearly 3.5 percent more efficient than the existing units. The improved engineering design will enable low-cost electricity to be produced without affecting the current water flow of the St. Lawrence River or its recreational and navigational uses.
The work also will include an overhaul of generators and related equipment, which will be followed by testing and phased-in installation of additional turbines.
The turbines on the Canadian side are undergoing a similar program. However, unlike those belonging to the United States, the turbines themselves are not being updated. The hubs are being left intact with only the blades being replaced.
The first of the turbines has already been extricated. “Unit 26 was removed in November. This marks the first time a turbine has been removed since the dam began producing electricity in 1958. That is pretty remarkable,” remarked Bob Hadler, community relations regional manager for the Power Authority. “That is a credit to the workmanship of those who built it and to our folks who have maintained it all these years.”
The first turbine is expected to arrive on-site in March. “We anticipate having the unit back in service by June,” Hadler reported. “Under the program schedule we hope to replace three units every two years, with a completion date of 2015. The timeframe was designed to minimize production losses.”
The majority of the work will be performed by NYPA employees. “We have hired contractors to do some of the specialty work but our folks did the dismantling,” explained Hadler. “The project has taken half of our work force and transformed them from a maintenance to a construction crew. It’s new and different and they are excited.”
Why undertake such an ambitious endeavor now?
According to Hadler, “No matter how well you take care of something, eventually it gets old. While there were no problems with the project’s operation, there were concerns over things such as metal fatigue. Tests and research showed that once the turbines reached the 50 to 65-year range they would need to be replaced. When you have 16 of them to do, you have to start early.”
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd in Korea manufactured the transformers. Hyundai was selected from the four companies who submitted bids. There were no bidders who would have built the transformers in the United States.
A Quebec electrical equipment manufacturing firm, GEC-Alsthom, was awarded the contract for replacing the initial turbine and seven others over a period of several years. The multinational firm has sales offices for turbine manufacturing in Aurora, CA.
More than half of the project’s output is shared by three Massena industries: the Aluminum Company of America, General Motors Powertrain and the Reynolds Metals Co.
The 50-year federal license that allowed the Power Authority to build and operate the St. Lawrence-FDR project expires in 2003. A re-licensing process aimed at securing federal and state approvals is under way. However, like the turbines, the re-licensing is only for the American half of the project.
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