City to invest in 30-year-old hydro plant
Generator at reservoir site could be a revenue source for the city
By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot
The Whitefish City Council on Nov. 17 approved spending $19,210 to have a 30-year-old hydroelectric plant at the city reservoir evaluated by Mother’s Power, of Whitefish, to see if it can be put back in operation.
The vote was 5-1. Councilor John Muhlfeld said he opposed the expenditure because there are higher priorities, including repairing the diversion dams above the city reservoir.
The equipment was originally installed during an energy crisis in the 1970s by Independent Power Systems, of Noxon. IPS owned and maintained the equipment under a cooperative agreement with the city, public works director John Wilson told the council.
Two small diversion dams capture water from Second and Third creeks on Big Mountain. The water is then directed about 700 feet downhill to the city reservoir in 24-inch pipes, reaching 300 pounds per square inch at the bottom, where the IPS equipment was installed.
Pacific Power and Light agreed to purchase the power from IPS’s hydro plant, and the city shared in the revenue. But after the energy crisis passed, IPS fell into bankruptcy, the city took ownership of the generating facility, and the contract with PPL lapsed as it no longer saw a need to purchase electric power from small producers, Wilson said.
If the hydroelectric facility produced the full amount of power specified on the generator’s nameplate, 190 kilowatts, it could provide enough electricity to supply 156 average homes, which would be worth $116,508 annually based on 7 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Wilson said he had a “gut feeling” the project is worth pursuing. He estimated new equipment would pay for itself within five years. After that, the equipment could produce power in the “six figure” range.
“The city of Whitefish is very fortunate to have this hydro-power option at hand,” Wilson said. “Given the expense and effort already devoted to this facility, it would be a relatively modest expenditure (compared with construction costs) to refurbish the system and have it operating again.”
Councilor Turner Askew asked if it would make more sense to have Flathead Electric Cooperative pay for the new equipment and operate the facility. He said the Co-op had taken over the new methane-burning power plant at the county landfill and will pay the county a portion of the revenue from power sales.
Wilson, however, said the city would be better off if it retained control over the facility. That way it could choose to sell the power it produced or use the power for city purposes, depending on open-market power prices.
The consultant contract with Mother’s Power calls for an analysis of the existing system as well as market conditions and a recommendation on whether to upgrade the facility with state-of-the-art technology. If it proves feasible to proceed, the city could consider budgeting design services and construction in fiscal year 2010.
The Whitefish facility was one of three identical systems installed by IPS in Montana. The other two are still in use at the city of Philipsburg’s water-treatment facility.
Wilson said repairing the turbine and generator is not a viable option. The manufacturer of the Pelton-wheel type turbine is out of business, so repairs could require custom-machined parts, and current state-of-the-art technology could significantly improve performance, he said.
Wilson cited construction of a 33.5 gigawatt hydroelectric project at the Whistler Blackcomb Ski Area in British Columbia as an example of the benefits of on-site hydropower. The new generating plant will provide enough electricity to power the ski area’s 38 chairlifts, 17 restaurants, 269 snowguns and other buildings.