News Release Archive

Contract Awarded for Replacement Work at Judge Francis Carr Powerplant - Central Valley Project

Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken, 916-978-5100, 03/27/2007 20:17

For Release: March 27, 2007

The Bureau of Reclamation on March 27, 2007, awarded a $5.3 million contract to VA Tech HydroUSA Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina, to replace key parts for two hydroelectric turbine generators located at the Judge Francis Carr Powerplant.  The powerplant is located off of U.S. Highway 299, west of Redding in Trinity County, California.

The contract calls for designing, building, and delivering two stainless steel ‘runners’ for powerplant units 1 and 2.  It also calls for building and delivering other key parts, as well as paying for the services of an engineer.  A runner is a hydraulic turbine wheel about 11 feet in diameter with many vanes that capture the energy from water falling under gravity.  The runner is connected to an electric generator and is a very efficient method to produce electricity in an ecologically friendly way.

The contract also provides the option for the contractor to inspect the turbines to determine if the wicket gates need replacement or refurbishment.  A wicket gate regulates the volume of water that flows through the turbine wheel to increase or decrease the amount of electricity that is produced by the electric generator.  If replacement is indicated, the contractor will deliver and install new wicket gates.  If refurbishment of the existing gates is possible, the gates will be removed, refurbished, and replaced.

“This replacement is a key element in ensuring the critical hydropower production of the Federal Central Valley Project,” said Commissioner Robert W. Johnson.  “The Francis Carr Powerplant has an electrical generation rating of 154 megawatts for the Central Valley Project.”

The program will take place over a 2-year period, and it will require about a year to disassemble each unit and install the new turbine runner and inspect the wicket gates.  The first of the two generators is tentatively scheduled to be disassembled starting in September 2009 and will back in service by August 2010.  The second unit will be disassembled starting in September 2010 and will be back in service by August 2011.

The hydroelectric turbine generators at the Judge Francis Carr Powerplant first went into commercial operation in 1963. For more information, contact Mr. Joe Ascoli at Reclamation’s Northern California Area Office at 530-229-5224 or e-mail jascoli@mp.usbr.gov.

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