Homework #4 Hydro power

 When I go to work in the morning I put on a pencil skirt, blazer, and flats. I hop on the T for twenty minutes which lets me out in front of my building and when I enter, my cubicle is waiting for me with my laptop and a second monitor. What stood out to me was how difficult it was to get to the hydro plant. We drove on the edge of a mountain and then went into the woods before seeing what turned out to be a very large facility. Once there, we had to put on protective gear including a helmet, glasses, and noise canceling headphones. To see half of the units we had to go down into a tunnel that was man made by dynamite.

EMAE is a hydro power plant built in 1926 with 8 above ground units with two turbines each and 6 underground units with one turbine each. The above ground units produce about 462 MW across all 8 machines and the underground units produce 70 MW each for a total of 420 MW. Each unit has a large needle that last for about 84,000 hours before needing to be replaced. We were able to see a scaled model in action and that to me was incredible so I can only imagine what the life size machines look like under the steel casings.

I what to preface what I am about to say by stating I am a full supporter of renewable energy. I can also recognize that the power plant is producing a lot of energy at a very high efficiency (low loss of energy). However, I have to admit that I can understand when people argue that the cost associated with setting up renewable energy sources is too high for it to be a viable option. Looking at the size of the hydro plant and all of the material that had to be set up on top of a giant mountain, I can’t help but think how much time and resources it took to build and what it takes now to maintain. I know that hydro power has great long term benefits, but the high upfront costs definitely stand out to me.

I was most impressed with the underground units compared to the above ground ones. The 6 units underground only have one turbine compared to the above ground units that have two and also require less maintenance according to our guide. The underground units also produce 420 MW out of 6 machines which isn’t too far behind the eight above ground units. What that means to me is underground units are a more financially sound option because they use less material more efficiently. However, I can’t forget that the tunnel they sit in was man made by dynamite which I’m sure was a long process.

It is conflicting for me to be stuck so much on the cost of the entire operation but I found my mind falling back on those thoughts throughout our tour today. I am a firm believer that we need to witch over to renewable resources but after today I can appreciate the standpoint of “renewable energy is a lot of time and effort.” From what I gather from our class and our textbook, a lot more renewable energy needs to be produced/used for it to start making a difference and from what I saw today, that will take a lot to make happen.