TMWA Powerhouse Modernization

摘要

Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) has four hydroelectric projects located just west of Reno, Nevada along Interstate 80 as you exit Nevada and start into California. The projects all utilize water from the Truckee River whose headwaters flow from Lake Tahoe. The projects were originally built around the turn of the century (20th!) and are each in the 2-3 MW range of output. For the past 15 years, TMWA has been progressing on an upgrade plan to modernize the projects. The modernization has been driven by events and factors that have been and are continuing to pose an issue for many generation groups. Some of the primary drivers have been: the requirement to separate generation from transmission and distribution (all of the projects were previously owned and operated by Sierra Pacific Power - Nevada Power); failure of antiquated equipment; an aging workforce; the ongoing demand to "do more with less"; as well as a forward-looking view of the need to modernize their aging system to make ongoing operation and maintenance easier. The upgrading started in 1992, with the help of Phoenix Power Control, Inc. The first plant underwent a complete controls and excitation upgrade. There was a long period of just maintaining but the pace of change has recently accelerated with two other plants undergoing upgrades in the span of about 3 years. The last project a complete electrical upgrade including controls, excitation, protection and the medium-voltage subsystem.