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Hydroelectric Power for Iqaluit Considerations for Run of River Projects

The electrical power consumed in Iqaluit varies with time of day, time of the week and seasonally. The highest seasonal demand is typically during winter. . During the summer, demand is significantly less than winter and weekends are somewhat lower than weekdays. Typically, demand will also vary from a minimum during the early morning hours to maximums during peaks such as the supper hour. Minute by minute variations in load also occur as loads are switched on and off. The electrical generating plant must produce just enough power to meet the demand at any instant. As a result, the output of the electrical generators is constantly being adjusted to match the demand. For the existing diesel generators, this is done automatically by Governors that sense the demand and adjust the fuel supply to the diesel engines accordingly. The power produced by a hydroelectric turbine is proportional to the amount of water that is passed through the turbine and the height of the reservoir above the turbine. The electrical energy generated by the turbine and its generator is controlled by a Governor that adjusts the amount of water that passes through the turbine. The amount of water that can be used by a hydroelectric plant is therefore limited to the amount required to produce the electrical power being used in the community at any instant. In the case of Iqaluit, all of the rivers have very seasonal flow characteristics. The maximum flow typically occurs during spring and early summer. This flow is the result of snowmelt combined with runoff from rainfall. As the summer progresses, snowmelt diminishes and flows are lower and more dependent on rainfall. By freeze-up, flows in the rivers typically diminish to very low values and as winter progresses, flow in many of the rivers stops altogether. Unfortunately, the maximum flow available to produce electrical power occurs in spring and early summer when demand in Iqaluit is a minimum. By the time winter arrives and electrical demand increases, the natural river flows have greatly diminished or stopped. The attached Figure 2.1 from Knight Piesold shows the flow pattern of a typical river near Iqaluit. Hydroelectric projects are classified as Run of River projects if they have little or no capability to store water. Hydroelectric projects with Storage have dams that allow water to be stored so that it can be used whenever it is required to produce power. The overall arrangement for Run of River and Storage projects for the sites near Iqaluit would be similar in many ways. Both would have: - An intake to direct water from the river or reservoir into a penstock. - A penstock that carries the water under pressure from the intake to the powerhouse in which the turbines and generators would be located.

1/4/2008 A tailrace channel to direct the water back to the river.

The main differences between Run of River and Storage projects for these sites would be the size of the dam and reservoir. Typically, a Run of River project would have a very small dam which might only provide a very small amount of storage. Its main purpose would be to create enough depth of water to direct some of the flow into the intake and penstock. The dam would also contain some facilities for spilling any water that cannot be used for generation. A photograph of a dam and intake for a Run of River project is included below.

A Run of River plant can only produce power when there is naturally occurring flow in the river. Unfortunately, such a plant, on its own would be of limited value for Iqaluit as it would only produce power during the summer when demand in the community is low.

The pre-feasibility studies for hydroelectric projects for Iqaluit have largely focused on Storage projects. In order to store enough water from the summer runoff period to last all winter, these projects require relatively large dams and extensive reservoirs. The reservoirs will be filled in the spring and summer and drawn down as water is used over the low flow periods in the fall and winter. The generation capacity of these projects was evaluated on the basis that they will use all of the available water by operating continuously all year around. Most of the storage alternatives considered in the pre-feasibility studies required very large dams to create the large reservoirs required to store the water for the winter period. These large dams would be so costly that most of the Storage projects are not economic. One storage project, Jaynes Inlet, has some natural advantages that make greatly reduce

1/4/2008 the size and cost of the dam necessary to obtain the required storage. These advantages include; a) b) The existence of a relatively large lake high in the mountains with somewhat of a natural dam at the outlet of the lake. The high elevation of the lake relative to the powerhouse location means that a smaller quantity of water needs to be stored to create each MW of power. Relatively good rock conditions suitable reduce the cost of construction of a dam

c)

As a result of the natural lake and the high head, the addition of a relatively small dam will create enough water storage for year around operation of the hydroelectric plant These features provide a substantial economic advantage for Jaynes Inlet relative to other Storage projects near Iqaluit. However, the available flow at Jaynes Inlet limits the amount of energy that can be produced at this site to a level that will meet only a portion of the energy demand from Iqaluit. For the other Storage projects studied, the size and cost of the dams makes the cost of energy substantially higher than the cost of energy from Jaynes Inlet. The capital cost of these projects can be substantially decreased by reducing the size of the dams so that they become Run of river projects or projects with limited amounts of storage. Because Jaynes Inlet has a large amount of storage, it is possible to consider such projects to operate together with Jaynes Inlet to supply electrical energy to Iqaluit all year around. The basic design concepts and mode of operation would be as follows a) Design Jaynes Inlet to have; a. Storage for all of the inflow to the upper lake assuming that the plant is not operated during the summer months. This would require a modest increase in the size of the dam and reservoir compared to the concepts previously studied b. Generation capacity of the turbines and generators capable of utilizing all of the water in about 8 or 9 months. For example, the capacity might be increased from about 5 MW from the original concept to about 7 MW. c. A penstock sized to match the higher discharge capacity b) Design the storage project to have a. A small dam with limited storage and a small reservoir b. An intake, penstock and powerhouse similar in arrangement to that for a storage project for the same site c. A turbine and generator capacity based on the available flow during the spring and summer months. If the flow exceeds the amount

1/4/2008 required to meet the summer energy demands in Iqaluit, the powerhouse capacity would be limited to the expected demand. d. Since peak river flows will exceed the requirements for generation, the dam will have facilities to spill the excess water over the dam and into the natural river channel at the dam

The two plants will generally be operated as follows; a) During the spring and summer a. The Run of River project will be operated to produce as much power as possible based on the demand for electricity from Iqaluit and the amount of water available. During the high runoff period in early summer, river flows will probably exceed the capacity of the project and the demand for electricity water so water will be spilled. Since some of the water will be spilled, the total energy produced by a Run of River project will be less than the energy produced if a large storage reservoir was provided. b. The Storage project will only be operated if the Run of River plant cannot provide enough energy. Otherwise, all water flowing into the reservoir will be stored until the reservoir is filled to provide the water necessary for fall and winter. If there is excess water, it will be spilled into the natural river channel b) During Fall and Winter a. The Run of River plant will probably not be operated as there will not be adequate natural flows in the river. Any minor flow that does occur will be spilled at the dam into the river channel as if there was no hydroelectric project. b. The Storage project will draw on the water stored behind the dam to produce power for Iqaluit. The level in the reservoir will gradually be drawn down over winter, ready to be refilled in spring The Run of River project could thus be part of the solution to reduce reliance on diesel for energy generation for Iqaluit if it is constructed in combination with a Storage hydroelectric project. A run of River project for a particular site would generally have an arrangement that is quite similar to a Storage project except that the size of the dam and the reservoir would be much reduced. The run of river project could have less potential for environmental impact than a large project as it would;

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a) Have a smaller reservoir or no reservoir at all b) Not change river flows in winter when there is concern about possible impacts on sea ice formation and safety for travel c) Have a smaller dam that would more readily incorporate fish passage facilities in cases where the dam might represent a barrier to fish passage. Knight Piesold has undertaken a preliminary assessment of possible concepts with Run of River Projects as well as Storage projects. Their assessments included estimates of capital cost, energy generation and cost of energy. Some of the combinations that appear to have merit include; a) Jaynes Inlet as a Storage project as the first project. If it is to be combined with a Run of River project, the size of the reservoir and capacity of the turbines/generators would be increased. b) A Run of River project such as Right Lake or Armshow Long as the second project. Further study might indicate that there would be an advantage for this project to have some storage capability to improve energy generation and reliability. For example, a small dam at Right Lake could probably provide a significant amount of storage at modest cost. c) A third project could be developed either as either a Storage project. For example, if Right Lake is developed as a Run of River Project, Armshow Long could be developed later as a Storage project or as a Run of River with some storage. A graph showing how each of the projects would contribute to the energy needs of Iqaluit is included below in figure 1.

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Date
QULLIQ ENERGY CORPORATION AVERAGE DEMAND Storage Project Run of River IQALUIT HYDRO-ELECTRIC GENERATION STUDIES IQALUIT ENERGY CONSUMPTION (2003-2005) and Hypothetical Energy Generation by Storage and Run of River Hydroelectric Projects

FIGURE 1

Here are key advantages and disadvantages of Run of River projects Advantages 1. Most of the storage projects for Iqaluit require large and very expensive dams to create a reservoir. The cost of the dams for many storage projects studied can be approximately 50% of the construction costs. By changing a project to a Run of River project, the size and cost of the dam can be drastically reduced. This results in a lower cost of energy compared to a storage project for the same site . 2. Run of river projects will require only small reservoirs and very limited flooding of land. This will reduce environmental impacts. This would be very significant for a site such as Armshow Long which would have a very large reservoir if it is constructed as a storage project but only a small reservoir if it is completed as a Run of River project. This will make the project more environmentally favorable. For a project such as Right Lake, there is already a lake at the headwaters of the stream. If the project is completed as a storage project, the size of this lake would be increased significantly while if it constructed as a Run of River, the size of the lake would only be increased a small amount if at all. 3. There is no time delay for reservoir filling for run of river projects.

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if the completion of construction is scheduled for springtime, the plant can begin operation as soon as spring flows begin. if the storage project is completed at the same time, this will allow filling time for the storage project without delaying generation until fall when the reservoir of the storage project is complete. This advantage only occurs if a storage project and a run of rive project are completed at the same time. 4. If planned appropriately, it would be possible to modify a Run of River project to become a storage project at a later date. This would increase total costs but might still make the project more economically viable than initially building two storage projects since major costs for large dam would be deferred. Note that it might be possible to create the storage by constructing relatively small dams at upstream lakes rather than a large dam at the inlet. 5. Run of River projects will discharge water in more or less the same pattern as natural flows. Thus they will not impact sea ice conditions or other conditions affected by river flow patterns 6. Since the size of dam required for a Run of River project will be relatively small, it would be more feasible to construct fish passage facilities if these are needed to minimize impact on fish. This will not be a factor on some projects such as Right Lake where there are already barriers to fish passage. 7. Construction of a run or river project appears to be the lowest cost solution for increasing the capacity of hydroelectric generation for Iqaluit compared to construction of the lowest cost storage project. For example, this combination would allow the capacity to Jayne's Inlet to be increased to about 7-8 MW from 5 MW. any other single storage project with this capacity or a higher capacity appears to have substantially higher energy costs. Disadvantages 1. Run of river projects for the Iqaluit area will only produce significant amounts of power from the spring to late fall period when there is natural flow in the rivers. This is the time when demand for electrical energy is lowest. Thus Run of River projects are economic for a location such as Iqaluit, only if they are constructed along with storage projects that can produce power during the winter. 2. The combination of a storage project and a run of river project could be argued to have somewhat less reliability than two storage projects for winter operation since only the storage project can operate in winter. Since hydroelectric projects tend to be vary reliable, this difference in reliability is possibly more theoretical than real. 3. The run of river project will still involve some maintenance and inspection during winter even though it is not operating. This would be a small cost.

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4. Since the peak flows will exceed the discharge capacity of the turbines, some water will be spilled during high flow periods. Thus the site will produce less total energy than a storage project at the same site. However, as noted in the advantages, the cost of energy will be less than for a storage project for many of the sites near Iqaluit. The advantages and disadvantages are somewhat dependant on the site being considered. In addition, it is worth noting that further studies might show that the best solution is 1. A storage project such as Jayne's Inlet with capacity increased to say 8-9 MW plus 2. Another project with limited storage so that the duration of generation could be extended and the total energy generated from the site would be increased. This might be achieved by constructing a modest sized dam with a modest sized reservoir. While the second project would not be true run of river project, the costs and impacts might well be lower than for a second large storage project. This combination should be considered in the next phase of study.