Innovation in Global Power - Parsons Brinckerhoff

Hydropower – New Technologies, New Considerations
http://www.pbworld.com/news_events/publications/network/
Developing Hydropower Resources in Greenland
By Jesse Kropelnicki, Boston, Massachusetts, 1-617-960-4975, kropelnicki@pbworld.com; Gillian Tucker, Boston, Massachusetts,
1-617-960-4993, tuckerG@pbworld.com; and Paul Shiers, Boston, Massachusetts, 1-617-960-4990, shiers@pbworld.com
The authors tell about their
work in determining the
feasibility of a hydropower
facility that will use glacial
runoff as its water source.
This work included calculating
the power potential and
costs and performing a risk
assessment.
In May 2007, the Greenland Homerule Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with Alcoa Inc. for the evaluation and potential implementation of an aluminum reduction
(smelter) plant in western Greenland, near either Nuuk, Maniitsoq or Sisimiut. Alcoa chose
PB to act as owner’s engineer for the feasibility stage of the development of hydropower
resources and transmission facilities needed to provide low-cost electricity to the plant. We
expect that two to three hydropower developments will be needed.
About Greenland
Greenland, also known as Kalaallit Nunaat (meaning “Land of the Greenlanders” in Kalaallisut,
an Eskimo-Aleut language), is a self-governing Danish province, and it is the world’s largest
island. It has an area of 2,166,086 km 2 (836,109 square miles), 81 percent of which is covered
by the Greenland ice sheet. All of its towns and settlements are located along the ice-free
coast, with approximately half of the 57,000 inhabitants settled along the west coast in Sisimiut
and Maniitsoq in the north and Nuuk and Paamiut in the south.
The principal income in Greenland derives from the shrimp fishery, although publicly owned
enterprises and the municipalities also play a dominant role in the economy. Tourism has
the potential to create economic growth, but it is constrained by Greenland’s short warm
season and high travel costs.
Project Overview
The project will use glacial runoff as its water source for two to three major hydro sites. With
there being one peak period each year during which the reservoir fills up—late spring and
summer—a very large reservoir volume is required to capture and maintain the water needed
to generate power for the smelter year round. The project will also require:
• Nine to ten dams
• Two to three canals
• Six to seven tunnels
• An underground power plant for each hydro site.
Figure 1: The conceptually
similar Kárahnjúkar Dam in Iceland
during its construction.
Combined, these sites would have an installed capacity of 600 to 750 MW. The largest dam
would be 40 m (130 feet) high, and the estimated total length of tunnels will range from 60
to 85 km (37 to 50 miles). The length of transmission line required may be as high as 700 km
(435 miles). Civil infrastructure, including harbors, camps, roads and heliports will also be
developed to support construction of the project. The project cost is currently estimated at
$1.5 billion US.
The Greenland hydro project will be similar conceptually to the
Kárahnjúkar Hydroelectric Project (Figure 1) in Iceland (owned by
Landsvirkjun), which uses glacial runoff to generate nearly 4,600
GWh/year (based on installed capacity of 690 MW) for Alcoa’s
Fjarðaál Fjarõaál aluminum smelter in the port of Reyðarfjörður. Reyõarfjörõur. This project
was completed recently and is is discussed in in National Geographic
magazine (March 2008) and currently on the magazine’s Web site
(see Related Web Sites).
In 2007, we completed various field studies with the assistance of
outside consultants and several technical analyses, including:
PB Network #68 / August 2008 30