The Bureau of Reclamation is looking to upgrade the aging facilities at the Hungry Horse Dam, a project that could cost upwards of $200 million and take eight to 10 years to complete.

The agency says the power plant’s four generating units include components that are operating far beyond their intended service life. The proposed modernization and overhaul project will alleviate safety-related concerns, potential limitations on plant operations, and increased risk to sustained long-term operation of the plant, it says.

Chris Vick of the Bureau of Reclamation said the first step in the process is to install flow meters in the penstocks to determine the current efficiency of the plant. That will be done next month. The Bonneville Power Administration will then run a series of calculations to determine if the upgrade is worth the cost, Vick noted. That process alone will take two to three years. But, he noted, the original turbines were built in the 1950s from cast iron. Today’s modern generators should be more efficient. The plant current has a nameplate capacity of 428 megawatts of electricity, or 107 megawatts per generator.

The BPA recently upgraded the generators at the Palisades dam in eastern Idaho, which resulted in a 6 percent increase in efficiency. 

If the same holds true for Hungry Horse, it could mean an increase of about 25 megawatts, a significant amount of additional power. 

The Environmental Assessment will evaluate the impacts of each alternative on the human and natural environments and is expected to be published in summer of 2016. Reclamation addresses just two alternatives in the EA:

Alternative A – No Action: Reclamation would continue operating the dam’s four generating units under the existing maintenance program with allowances for emergency repairs or replacements. Operations to generate electricity and regulate streamflows would continue according to existing protocols and agreements with the Bonneville Power Administration. Maintenance and repair costs, production outages, and time needed to obtain replacement parts would continue to increase based on the aging technology and the scarcity or unavailability of such parts.

Alternative B – Hungry Horse Power Plant Modernization: Reclamation would upgrade the power plant, overhaul and modernize the four generating units, conduct major maintenance on the penstocks and selective withdrawal system, refurbish the dam outlet works tubes and spillway, and upgrade the domestic water system. 

To submit comments, or for additional information, contact Vick, Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, 1150 Curtis Road, Suite 100, Boise, ID 83706, by January 31, 2016. Contact can also be made by emailing cvick@usbr.gov or by calling (208) 378-6547.