The Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, a popular sport fish, are subjected to multiple sublethal stressors during angling, including high water temperature, exercise, handling, live-well retention, and weigh-in procedures.
Based on our experience with over 30+ dam decommissioning projects across North America, and in keeping with the drama of Hamlet, we would like to share our Playbook for Dam Decommissioning & Removal. The playbook is complimented with the Play Exposition: Factors to be Considered.
The interest in developing new pumped storage hydropower (PSH) is accelerating, as is the push to modernize and upgrade existing facilities. As new variable output, renewable energy facilities such as wind and solar are added to the electrical grid, there is a growing need for a proven, economically viable, and carbon-free technology such as PSH that can store excess energy as well as quickly start-up to meet peak demands. Over 50 GW of new PSH may be needed in North America for grid stability as more renewable energy sources come online.
It’s fall, a time when many people are thinking about cooler weather, colorful foliage, football and other sports; however, at Kleinschmidt, our scientists and engineers are thinking about eels. Specifically, silver (adult) American eels that are migrating downstream on their journey back to the ocean to spawn.
Many of today’s penstocks were built in the early 1900s using design methods, materials, and construction techniques far different from those used today. Further, facilities now operate in a manner that has increased the physical pressures imposed on aging penstocks.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) with consultation from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Kleinschmidt Associates designed and implemented a study to evaluate American Shad downstream fish passage at Hanover Pond Dam.
Kleinschmidt is one of only a few engineering consulting firms in the United States specializing in servicing the hydropower industry and has been doing so for more than five decades. In the 1980s, they expanded into environmental and licensing services, and are now nationally known for this expertise, in addition to the engineering skills that have always been a hallmark of the company. In the 1990s, Kleinschmidt recognized the opportunity to expand their client base beyond hydro, and the company has excelled in ecosystem assessments, individual habitat and river restoration projects, watershed management, water supply reservoir management, dam removal, fish passage, and impact studies for wetlands.
While well-designed fish passage may not generate revenue, it is still essential to your facility’s future. Ultimately, it allows you to keep doing business, by ensuring compliance with key federal and state/provincial regulations such as the Federal Power Act (FPA) in the United States and the Fisheries Act in Canada.
As the owner of a hydroelectric facility, chances are that you know the technical aspects of how a plant produces electricity and what it takes to keep it running. However, are you as familiar with the regulatory oversight required for your facility?
Balancing risk, cost, and ecosystem restoration during dam removal.