03-25-2008, 10:22 PM
Fuzzy, I agree with you on one thing and that is there are other plants out there that operate like this proposed one, but Bear Lake is not the place for it.
As for the power, the plant will consume more power to pump the water than can be produced. It will make money by selling the power at a "premium" and buying it at a lower cost. There is no way (as Fishermn pointed out) to pump something uphill and get equal or more return. We'd have a perpetual motion machine if this is way physics worked. The plant is only 80% efficient. Peaking is a way you can make money by taking advantage of market conditions.
Now as for stirring up the water: It definitely has the potential to stir things up. How could over 18,000 CFS of water not disturb bottom sediment, alter the thermocline, etc.? Fuzzy is correct in that no turbine unit operator would want to have dirty water put through them. In fact, the upper reservoir is proposed to be totally lined with a membrane. However, the part that would get stirred up is at a depth of 120 feet. With 23 times the flow currently coming out of Flaming Gorge, do you not think that will stir up the bottom? The discharge tunnel is proposed to be 40feet in diameter with baffles on the end to distribute the flow. But even with the proposed baffling, there would still be a huge flow of water. The bottom of Bear Lake is fine, siltly, marl. Very fine particles that can be stirred up easily with just a light amount of current. This is even something the power company acknowleges, but they don't indicate to what degree things will be stirred up.
Hope I've put to rest a few issues with more information.
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As for the power, the plant will consume more power to pump the water than can be produced. It will make money by selling the power at a "premium" and buying it at a lower cost. There is no way (as Fishermn pointed out) to pump something uphill and get equal or more return. We'd have a perpetual motion machine if this is way physics worked. The plant is only 80% efficient. Peaking is a way you can make money by taking advantage of market conditions.
Now as for stirring up the water: It definitely has the potential to stir things up. How could over 18,000 CFS of water not disturb bottom sediment, alter the thermocline, etc.? Fuzzy is correct in that no turbine unit operator would want to have dirty water put through them. In fact, the upper reservoir is proposed to be totally lined with a membrane. However, the part that would get stirred up is at a depth of 120 feet. With 23 times the flow currently coming out of Flaming Gorge, do you not think that will stir up the bottom? The discharge tunnel is proposed to be 40feet in diameter with baffles on the end to distribute the flow. But even with the proposed baffling, there would still be a huge flow of water. The bottom of Bear Lake is fine, siltly, marl. Very fine particles that can be stirred up easily with just a light amount of current. This is even something the power company acknowleges, but they don't indicate to what degree things will be stirred up.
Hope I've put to rest a few issues with more information.
[signature]