HydroPower USA LLC
P.O. Box 234, Abbottstown,, United States

Welcome to HydroPower USA, LLC

Reliable. Experienced. Dedicated to innovative and cost-effective solutions.

As one of the few "true" Hydraulic Turbine Engineering Consultants currently operating in the United States, HydroPower USA brings experience to each project that is unmatched in today’s market. With more than 40 years of hands-on design and evaluation of hydraulic turbines, we help government agencies, utility companies and private developers optimize aging systems or design new ones.

When you choose HydroPower USA to design, evaluate or upgrade your hydraulic turbines and auxiliary equipment, you get a partner dedicated to solving your problems and preventing future challenges…and much more:

• Improved equipment reliability
• Extended operating life
• Reduced operation and maintenance costs
• A reliable engineering resource you can turn to at any time
• Responsive to your needs and schedule – not someone else’s
Engage HydroPower USA for your next modernization project or new installation – our dedication to solving today’s challenges will save you time and money in years to come.

Our Services

HydroPower USA provides hydraulic turbine engineering consulting services to public and private sector clients. With more than 40 years of specialized industry experience in hydropower and water control projects, we serve as a responsive resource to meet our customers’ engineering needs.

From equipment upgrades to new civil construction projects, we are unmatched in our ability to provide innovative design improvements and equipment recommendations that will save you time and money.

Our services include:

Engineering Services

• Complete design of mechanical equipment upgrades, enhancements and modernization;
• Design review and analysis including FEA and
fatigue life;
• Independent review of manufacturers’ designs and drawings;
• Preparation of technical procurement specifications;
• Evaluation of competitive technical bid proposals.
Inspection Services

• On-site turbine and auxiliary equipment inspection, evaluation and refurbishment/upgrade recommendations;
• New and/or refurbished equipment source inspection.
Troubleshooting

• On-site or electronic consultation to evaluate and provide recommendations to solve mechanical and/or operational problems.

Our Experience

When it comes to upgrading aging equipment – or planning a challenging new installation – you need a consultant who can accurately and quickly assess your needs and make practical recommendations for optimizing aging systems or designing new high-efficiency units.

You need expertise and specialization. Not a generalist who may not be able to anticipate issues that you may face after the initial start up phase. HydroPower USA has that expertise. Following is a partial listing of hydraulic turbines and related water control equipment projects of major significance in which we were involved.

For additional case histories, please contact Craig Peterson 
at 717-259-0250.

Projects:

Project Name: Kaysinger Bluff (later renamed Harry S. Truman)
Customer: Omaha District, Corps of Engineers (BLH)
Project Scope: This unusual contract was for the design and manufacture of six 254" diameter 5-blade Kaplan turbines oriented with the shaft axis 24° from horizontal. The units are reversible pump-turbines, rated at 42,000 HP under 42.5 feet net head with a maximum pumping head of 55 feet. The size and unusual orientation presented many design and installation challenges.

Project Name: Jocassee Hydro-Station
Customer: Duke Power Company (AC) 
Project Scope: Four 288" diameter pump turbines rated at 294,000 hp generating under 294 feet net head. Pumping head range 290 to 344 feet. These units were the largest physical size pump turbines built by Allis-Chalmers. The first of these units went into commercial service in 1974.

Project Name: Noxon Rapids
Customer: Washington Water Power Company (AC)
Project Scope: One 237.4" discharge Francis turbine rated 172,000 hp under 152 feet net head. This unit has a two-piece split runner, bolted together at the crown and field welded and machined at the band.

Project Name: Bonneville Second Power Plant
Customer: Corps of Engineers, Portland OR (AC)
Project Scope: Eight 330" diameter 5-blade Kaplan turbines rated at 105,000 hp under 52 feet net head. Several unique features of these machines include: tubular shafts fabricated from two forgings welded together, automatic gate locks on the gate operating ring rather than on the servomotors; blade operating servomotor cylinder within the lower part of the hub.

Project Name: St Mary’s Redevelopment
Customer: Great Lakes Power (AC)
Project Scope: Three 7.1 meter diameter bulb turbines, 3 bladed full Kaplan machines with direct connected generators. These units are still ranked among the largest bulb turbines in the world. Many unique methods and equipment were designed for use in installation of these units.

Project Name: Kingsley Project
Customer: Central Nebraska Power (AC)
Project Scope: This project consisted of one medium-sized Kaplan turbine as well as a very large Howell-Bunger valve (108" diameter) and a large lattice disc butterfly valve (156" diameter). Both of these valves, due to their extreme size, were challenges for the designer and were successfully manufactured and installed.

Project Name: Yards Creek Pumped Storage Project Upgrade
Customer: Jersey Central Power and Light Company (AHC)
Project Scope: Both the mechanical design of the new impeller-runners and the complete redesign of the gate mechanism to increase the gate rotation, incorporate the latest anti-flailing design, convert to self lubricating bearings, improve the upthrust mechanism, presented a design challenge. Significant modifications were also made to the stay vanes to alleviate a persistent cracking problem.

Project Name: Smith Mountain Dam Upgrade, Units 2 and 4
Customer: American Electric Power (AHC)
Project Scope: These extremely large Francis runners were designed as one piece stainless steel fabrications, not only challenging the shop handling, but also transportation. The original runners, due to their large size, were manufactured in halves and assembled at the project. The first replacement runner was delivered and installed in November 1997.

Project Name: Taum Sauk Pumped Storage Project Upgrade
Customer: Union Electric (Ameren UE) (AHC)
Project Scope: This major rehabilitation and upgrade project included not only replacement of the original two-piece impeller-runners with one-piece fabricated stainless steel wheels, but new two-piece forged SST wicket gates, complete new upgraded gate mechanism and a new bearing housing lowering the guide bearing 15" to eliminate a shafting system vibration problem.

Project Name: Fairfield Pumped Storage project
Customer: South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (AHC)
Project Scope: This project included not only replacement of the 8 impeller-runners with new upgraded fabricated SST impeller-runners, but initially on two of the machines, provided a complete new gate operating mechanism utilizing 4 double acting servomotors, a gate operating ring with automatic gate locks, and all new modern linkage to replace the leakage prone and unreliable twenty individual gate operating cylinders.

Project Name: Michigamme Falls Hydroelectric Station
Customer: Wisconsin Electric Co. (AHC)
Project Scope: Conversion of one of the three fixed blade propeller units to a full double regulated Kaplan machine presented a significant challenge to the designer. Provisions were not made in the original design for oil supply to a runner hub and blade operating servomotor. Replacement of the throat liner, modification of the shafting, addition of an oil head, and design and manufacture of an extremely compact 5-blade Kaplan runner were quite successful.