High-Performance Components and High-Performance People

By Kris Polly

Leslie James retired this summer after 28 years at the helm of the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, or CREDA, which represents consumer-owned energy systems that purchase power from the Colorado River Storage Project to serve more than 5 million customers across the West. In our wide-ranging conversation, she reflects on long-term water availability issues, the shift toward regional transmission organizations, and the importance of interorganizational cooperation.

Next, we hear about an upgrade to Switzerland’s Grimsel 4 pumped storage plant, involving two variable-speed turbines manufactured by Voith.

After that, we hear from two professionals working to improve aquatic species survival at dams and hydropower facilities. First, we talk with Patrick Monk, the senior fish biologist at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Washington Yakima Project, about the recent installation of a fish guidance boom system at Sunnyside Dam, which is intended to improve salmon survival. Then, we speak with Shane Scott, who is involved in developing a narrow-gauge rack to keep juvenile eel out of hydropower turbines.

Dan Dietrich of Timberland Equipment describes his company’s specialty as “solving complex heavy-lifting challenges for which standard off-the-shelf equipment just doesn’t make the cut.” Among the components that the company provides for the hydropower market are spillway and intake gate hoists and gantry cranes. In our interview, Mr. Dietrich tells us more about the company’s ability to respond to unforeseen project challenges and lays out the business opportunities inherent in infrastructure rehabilitation and the shift to green energy.

Turbines, fish guidance systems, gate hoists, control systems—high-performance components of every type are needed to ensure that hydropower facilities operate as intended. Equally important are high-performance professionals—those who know the hydropower world inside and out, can discern its trends, and can establish partnerships to move the industry forward.

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Hydro Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.