April 5, 2010

BMU sets generation record at Auglaize hydro plant

By LOU PENDLETON

Everything fell together -- a slow spring thaw, good rains and cooler temperatures all within one month -- to help Bryan Municipal Utilities set a record for power generation in one month at the Auglaize Hydroelectric Plant.

During March, the Auglaize plant produced 2,273,625 kilowatt hours or enough to power 2,675 average homes for one month. The record generation was the highest since Bryan Municipal Utilities purchased the plant in 1996.

“We had a great spring thaw in which we had warm weather without any rainfall and that allowed us to hold back the ice and let it melt,” said Matt Killion, BMU power plant superintendent. “We were able to keep the flashboards in place and maintain two feet of head to greatly improve generation. As we got additional rainfall, we were able to capture it and improve generation even more.”

Killion said mechanically, all the equipment ran well. The cooler temperatures at this time of year allowed the utility to run the generators with more output. Two large units at the plant generate 1,100 kW and three other units generate 725 kW each.

“We had 1.5 million gallons of water per minute running through the plant with all five units running at capacity. On one day the USGS river gauge below the dam measured 5.5 million gallons total coming down the river. The flood gates were wide open, and we kept the flashboards.”

“It will be hard to beat that amount of generation again. We had all machines running at peak output with minimal downtime. Since the ice didn’t move, it held back all the debris,” explained Killion. “Once the ice melted and it started to rain, we did get hit with debris. It plugs the intakes and we had to shut down to clean out the debris sometimes three times a day. Toward the end of the month there was a lot of straw and corn stubble. We get more debris when the river is rising. Once it crests and starts to fall, the debris diminishes.”

The generation carried over to the first few days of April, but right now Killion said they are running just one unit. While they wait for the spring rains, they plan to patch up the flashboards on the crest of the dam.

After having the perfect spring melt-off, Killion is hoping for perfect spring rains to keep the generation going. “If we can get an inch of rain every other day, it would be good because we are a flow of the river hydro plant with limited storage capacity. If the water is flowing, our goal is to make it flow through the generators and not through the floodgates or over the top of the dam.”

The Auglaize hydroelectric plant is located on the Auglaize River, just south of Defiance, Ohio. It provides about four percent of Bryan's power needs. To learn more about the Auglaize hydro plant and follow the daily generation output from the plant, click here.