CO2 – Page 7 – Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment.

The Transcontinental Aqueduct, spur 15: The Poppy Canyon Solar farm and pumped storage plant

One of the many problems facing solar farms is that they produce electricity only when the sun shines, which is less than half the time, so for the rest of the time electricity must be provided some other way. Historically peak power demands were provided by pumped storage plant, but very few have been built since the 70’s. Peak power is now supplied by natural gas electric plants, which is for now the most economic solution. If we want to get real about reducing our fossil fuel dependence, pumped storage must be looked at seriously, especially when changing our vehicle fleet from gasoline or diesel fuel to electric power source.

Here is spur 15 proposal sketch

Spur 15 is 7 miles long, starting at 3950′ and ending at 4750′

Dam 1 is the Poppy Canyon Upper Lake. To fill this lake in a year requires Spur 15 to have a capacity of 330 cfs. It will require 240 GWh to fill the lake from the TCA connection point. It has a 4,000 feet wide and up to 640 feet high dam, topping out at 5400 feet, and the lake holds a volume of up to 240,000 acre-ft of water. It would normally hold a minimum volume of 60,000 acre-feet of water to increase the average height difference between the upper and lower dam.

Dam width 4,500′ height 540′ water storage 230,000 acre-ft

Dam 2 dams the Cove Tank dam. It has a 3,300 feet wide and up to 360 feet high dam, topping out at 4,080 feet, and the lake holds a water volume of up to 110,000 acre-ft. Water is pumped from and released to the upper dam via a 13 mile tunnel

Dam width 6,000′ height 380′ water storage 110,000 acre-ft

Dam 3 is the Poppy Canyon Lower Dam. It has a 3,300 feet wide and up to 460 feet high dam, topping out at 4,900 feet, and the lake holds a water volume of up to 70,000 acre-ft. Water is pumped from and released to the upper lake 1.8 mile tunnel.

How much energy will it generate per day? To dam 2 will be releasde 110,000 acre-ft for 5 hrs generating 115 GWh per day or 23 GW of peak power for 5 hrs. Dam 3 will release 70,000 acre-ft for 5 hrs generating 25 GWh per day or 5 GW of peak power for 5 hrs. To again fill dam 2 and 3 will require 17 GW of power from the solar panels. An alternate power would be 9 GW of LFTR power plants, generating 9 GW of alternate peak power when water is released. Most probably the power sources will be a combination of the two.

This pumped storage plant will add another 120% to the existing U.S. pumped storage capacity.

The Transcontinental Aqueduct, spur 14: The Wilson Canyon Solar farm and pumped storage plant.

Here is spur 14 proposal sketch

Spur 14 is 100 miles long, starting at 3000′ and ending at 4700′

Dam 1 is the White Oaks Canyon Lake. To fill this lake in a year requires Spur 14 to have a capacity of 120 cfs. It will require 190 GWh to fill the lake from the aqueduct.. It has a 2000 feet wide and up to 480 feet high dam, topping out at 5140 feet, and the lake holds a volume of up to 100,000 acre-ft of water.

Dam 2 dams the Pine Canyon dam. It has a 2,200 feet wide and up to 240 feet high dam, topping out at 5,620 feet, and the lake holds a water volume of up to 60,000 acre-ft. Water is pumped from and released to the White Oaks Canyon lake to the Pine Canyon pumped storage via a 2 mile tunnel.

Dam 3 dams the Sitting Bull Canyon well above the Sitting Bull Falls recreation area. It has a 2,000 feet wide and up to 360 feet high dam, topping out at 5,610 feet, and the lake holds a water volume of up to 40,000 acre-ft. Water is pumped from and released to the White Oaks Canyon lake to the Pine Canyon pumped storage via a 2.4 mile tunnel.

How much energy will it generate per day? Dam 2 will release 60,000 acre-ft for 5 hrs generating 45 GWh per day or 9 GW of peak power for 5 hrs. Dam 3 will release 40,000 acre-ft for 5 hrs generating 28 GWh per day or 5.6 GW of peak power for 5 hrs. To again fill dam 2 and 3 will require 17 GW of power from the solar panels. An alternate power would be 4.5 GW of LFTR power plants, generating 4.5 GW of alternate peak power when water is released.

This pumped storage plant will add another 70% to the U.S. pumped storage capacity.

The Transcontinental aqueduct Leg 12: From the East Diversion dam to connecting to the Central Arizona aqueduct 45 miles WNW of Phoenix.

Leg 12 of the Transcontinental aqueduct is complicated. The total length of this segment is 105 miles, 20 miles is a 6,200 cfs aqueduct, and 85 miles is the Gila River. This map may help explain it:

But there is a problem that must be solved. Gila River is now mostly dry, and goes through an Indian reservation. The Gila River used to provide about 1.3 Million Acre-ft per year, snow-melt and monsoon rains providing nearly all of it, but was seasonally dry. Now all the water and then some is spoken for, so the Indians get nothing, and without water you can do no farming, so the reserve is largely depopulated. See map:

The home of the Gila River Indian Community The Salt and Gila Rivers flow east to west. Present day dams that divert the Salt River into a series of canals are indicated. Roosevelt Dam was completed in 1911, creating Theodore Roosevelt Lake, and Coolidge Dam was completed in 1930. Important locations include the Casa Grande structure, an artifact of the Hohokam times, and the city of Florence, site of the Florence Canal, which is described in the text. The Gila Indians today live on the Reserve shown, with headquarters at Sacaton. The related Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indians live on a separate reserve on the Salt.

In Phase 1, the Gila River will free flow. In Phase 2 there will be a55 mile aqueduct thru the Indian reserve dimensioned for 10,000 cfs flow. It will provide some power with a drop of over 400 feet. The maps will look like this:

Leg 12 east starts out at 1580′ and ends at Arlington Dam, 795′

Leg 12 west starts at Arlington dam, 705′ and ends at the CAP canal at 1,380′

Total power required for Leg 12 is 160 MW for phase 1 and 320 MW for Phase 2. Since it is continuous it is best served by three 100 MW LFTR reactors.

In Phase 2 the CAP aqueduct will be replaced by one that flows from east to west, and the Mark Wilmer pumping station will be converted to the Mark Wilmer generating station with the same capacity. Electricity generated will be 16% less than the energy that used to be consumed to pump up the water.

Mark Wilmer PP Aerial March 29, 2012 Central Arizona Project photo by Philip A. Fortnam

What is in it for Arizona? The Greater Phoenix area will get an increased water supply from the canal,since Tucson is already served in Leg 11. The Gila Indian reserve will get back the water supply that was taken away from them, a way of reparation, and will again make the Gila Indian reserve a viable community.

Leg 7, leg 8 and leg 9 of the Transcontinental aqueduct. From the Buffalo Soldier Draw dam to the highest point of the aqueduct 10 miles into Arizona.

Leg 7 is 255 miles. I starts out at 2700′ elevation and ends at 4500′

Leg 7. from Buffalo soldier Draw upper dam to the highest point in Texas

To lift 17,000 cfs of water (4500 – 2700 + 255×2.2) = 2421 feet with a 92% efficiency requires 3.7 GW of power.

Leg 8 is 125 miles. I starts out at 4500′ elevation and ends at 3800′

Leg 7. from the highest point in Texas to crossing the Rio Grande at La Mesa

To release 17,000 cfs of water (4500 – 3800 – 125×2.2) = 425 feet with a 92% efficiency generates 550 MW of power.

Leg 8 is 125 miles. I starts out at 4,500′ elevation and ends at 3,800′

From La Mesa it will climb to the highest pumping station in Arizona, located 10 miles west of the border, at 4,200 feet. The total lift of the water in stage 10 is (4,200 – 3980 + 160×2.2) feet = 572 ft. To lift 17,000 cubic feet per second 592 feet requires 900 MW of power.

The total power needed for these 3 legs of the Transcontinental aqueduct when fully built up is 4.05 GW of power, the bulk of which will be supplied of 40 100 MW LFTR (Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors). They are efficient and carbon neutral.

What’s in it for Texas, New Mexico and Arizona? Up to 17,000 cfs of soft water is being delivered to the thirsty south western states. This corresponds to 12 Million Acre-feet per year. The Colorado river contributes 15 MAF/year. The water delivery in the first pass of implementing the Transcontinental Aqueduct is 6,000 MAF per year.

The Transcontinental Aqueduct. Leg 10: Martin Tank Lake to Poppy Canyon pumped storage reservoirs, a distance of 200 miles.

The Martin Tank Lake dam is 2,260 feet wide and 230 feet high. The Lake will contain about 30,000 Acre-ft when full, about eighteen hours worth of storage.

The elevation at the Martin Tank lake will top out at 5,220 feet with maximum water level at 5,210 feet. Because there is no water storage en route water will be pumped at all times at The aqueduct will first descend to 3980 feet, as it crosses the Rio Grande in La Mesa, a distance of 50 miles. The elevation difference is (5,120 – 3980 – 50 X 2.2) feet = 1.030 feet. Releasing 16,900 cfs of water 1,030 feet will generate 1.285GW of energy continously. From La Mesa it will climb to the Poppy Canyon Upper Reservoir. The dam is 480 feet high and will top out at 5,400 feet with a maximum water level at 5,490 feet. The total lift of the water in stage 10 is (5,000 – 3980 + 160×2.2) feet = 1196 ft. To lift 16,900 cubic feet per second 1196 feet requires 1,508 MW of power, for a net need of 225 MW. This can be supplied by two 100 MW LFTR nuclear reactors, operating 24 hrs /day The Poppy Canyon Reservoir will look like this:

The Poppy Canyon is a pumped power storage, consisting of an upper dam:

and a lower dam:

Dam width 4,500′ height 500′, water storage 200,000 acre-ft

The total lift of the water in the pumping stage is maximum (5,390 – 4,400) feet = 990 ft. and the minimum lift is 200ft, for an average lift of 350 ft. The pumping stage pumps up 10,000 acre-ft per hour for i9 hours needing maximum 10.7 GW of power. During the release stage 38,000 acre-ft of water is released per hour for a total power generation of 78 GWh / day of pumped storage electricity. In addition, the 107 100 MW LFTR SMRs will generate 53.5 GWh of virtual power storage when no water is pumped up.

What’s in it for New Mexico and Arizona? 16,900 cfs of soft water is being delivered to be divided among the south western states. In addition this stage will provide up to 133.5 GWh of pumped storage peak energy daily to help stabilize the grid when more solar power panels are installed and electric cats and trucks are recharged.

The Transcontinental Aqueduct. Leg 9: From the North Hammock Canyon to the Martin Tank Lake.

Leg 8 ended in the North Hammock Canyon Reservoir. It will be filled mostly during the 5 hours of peak power generation. During the other 19 hours the fill rate will be very low leading to lowering water levels.

Leg 9 starts with a 1/2 mile wide, 200 ft high reservoir capable of holding 12,000 acre-ft of water. It will be filled during the 5 hours of peak power. The average drop is (4,600 – 4210) = 390 ft and the flow is (12,000 / 5) = 2,400 acre-ft/hr, generating a net power of (390 x 2,400x 0.92) = 861 MW during the 5 peak hours.

From the North Hammock peak power reservoir to the Martin Tank Lake the distance is 59 miles the way the aqueduct takes. It will first descend to 3720 feet before rising to 5190 feet. The descending drop is (4200 – 3720 – 2.2 x 9), an average of 460 feet. The Martin Canyon Lake will top out at 5200 feet with maximum water level at 5190 feet. The total lift of the water in this stage is (5190 – 3720 + 50×2.2) feet = 1580 ft. To lift 21,400 cubic feet per second (1580 x 1.08 – 460 x 0.92) = 1283 feet requires eighteen 100 MW LFTR nuclear reactors. The Martin Tank Lake dam is 22260 feet wide and 230 feet high. It will contain about 30,000 Acre-ft when full, about eighteen hours worth of storage.

What’s in it for New Mexico? The major contribution in this stage is the 861 MW of pumped storage and 2,300 MW of virtual power storage for a total of ( (861 + 2300) x5) = 15.8 GWh per day.

Leg 7 of the Transcontinental aqueduct. From the Buffalo Soldier Draw dam to the White Oaks Canyon dam and pumped storage power plant.

Leg 7 of the Transcontinental aqueduct is 90 mils in Texas, rising from 2800′ to 3640′. From there it flows 115 miles in New Mexico rising to 5200′.

The upper dam of Soldier Mountain Draw, capacity 40,000 acre-ft.

The elevation at the buffalo Soldier Draw dam will top out at 2,850 feet with maximum water level at 2,830 feet. The White Oaks Canyon dam is 560 feet high and will top out at 5,240 feet with an average water level at 5,000 feet. The total lift of the water in stage 5 is (5,000 – 2,800 + 205×2) feet = 2610 ft. To lift 21,600 cubic feet per second 2610 feet requires fifty 100 MW LFTR nuclear reactors, twenty on the Texas Grid and thirty on the Western national grid. The White Oaks Canyon Lake will contain about 130,000 Acre-ft of water when full, about three days of storage. For 5 hours per day these fifty reactors used in this stage can provide 5.0 GW of peak power to the grid instead of pumping water, thus acting as a virtual hydroelectric peak power storage. 2 GW of this will be used by the Texas Power Grid, and 3 GW by the Western U.S. Power grid, and they have to be coordinated.The White Oaks dam will look like this:

What’s in it for Texas? Wind power is already 22% of the source for the Texas power grid, but Texas has up to now no pumped water storage, and until this is fixed coal and natural gas backup must be provided when the wind doesn’t blow. This leg will provide 2 GW of virtual hydro-power generation to the Texas power grid by not pumping water for up to 5 hours and thus provide 10 GWh of peak power daily. This will greatly help stabilize the Texas power grid, and facilitate the phasing out of coal power and help the transition to electric vehicles, which will add stress to the stability of the grid by their uneven recharging patterns.

What’s in it for New Mexico? This leg will provide 3 GW of virtual hydro-power generation by not pumping water for up to 5 hours and thus provide 15 GWh of peak power daily.

Leg 6 of the Transcontinental aqueduct. From Deadman Draw dam and pumped storage power plant to Buffalo Soldier Draw dam and optional pumped storage plant.

This leg has the freedom to pump water at 21,800 cfs or less, including stopping for up to 5 hrs/day to provide virtual peak hydro-power for the Texas grid. This must be coordinated with leg 5 and leg 7. Total distance of the aqueduct is 135 miles, from elevation 1830′ to elevation to 2840′.

From Deadman Draw dam to Buffalo Soldier Draw dam, a distance of 135 miles.

The water elevation at Deadman Draw dam is nominally 1,830 feet. The Buffalo Soldier Draw dam yet to be built will top out at 2,850 feet with maximum water level at 2,840 feet. The total lift of the water in stage 3 is (2,840 – 1,830 + 135×2) feet = 1,280 ft. To lift 21,800 cubic feet per second 1,280 feet requires twenty-five 100 MW LFTR nuclear reactors The upper reservoir will contain about 40,000 Acre-ft when full, about one day worth of storage. For 5 hours per day these twenty-five 100 MW reactors can provide 2.5 GW of peak power to the grid.

There will be a lower dam to provide hydroelectric power storage of 4.5 GWh, or 900 MW for 5 hours. After each use the lower dam will be re-emptied by pumping back the water to the upper dam, using 5.4 GWh of power, hopefully using surplus wind or solar power.

The aqueduct will go thru and dug sown at 1590’elevation

What’s in it for Texas? Wind power is already 22% of the source for the Texas power grid, but Texas has up to now no pumped water storage, and until this is fixed coal and natural gas backup must be provided when the wind doesn’t blow. This leg will provide 4.5 GWh of peak power per day from the pumped water storage. In addition the 2.3 GW of Nuclear power can provide virtual hydro-power generation by not pumping water for up to 5 hours and thus provide 6 GWh of peak power daily. This will greatly help stabilize the Texas power grid, and facilitate the phasing out of coal power and help the transition to electric vehicles, which will add stress to the stability of the grid by their uneven recharging patterns. I addition, the City of Lubbock can purchase water from the aqueduct, to be negotiated.

Leg 5 of the Transcontinental aqueduct. From Brad dam to Deadman Draw dam and pumped storage power plant.

The distance of leg 5 is 10 miles of water and 60 miles of aqueduct. This leg has the freedom to pump water at 22,000 cfs or less, including stopping for up to 5 hrs/day to provide virtual peak hydro-power for the Texas grid.

The elevation at Brad reservoir is nominally 1260 feet. From 25 miles East of Breckenridge the aqueduct goes W to 19.5 miles ENE of Abilene, a distance of 60 miles . The dam yet to be built will top out at 1840 feet with maximum water level at 1830 feet. The total lift of the water in stage 3 is (1830 – 1260 + 60×2) feet = 690 ft. To lift 22,000 cubic feet per second 690 feet requires twelve 100 MW LFTR nuclear reactors The upper Baird reservoir will contain about 90,000 Acre-ft when full, about two days worth of storage. For 5 hours per day these twelve 100 MW reactors can provide 1.2 GW of peak power to the grid. There will be a lower dam to provide hydroelectric power storage of 4 GWh, or 800 MW for 5 hours. After each use the lower dam will be re-emptied by pumping back the water to the upper dam, using 4.75 GWh of power, hopefully using surplus wind or solar power.

What’s in it for Texas? Wind power is already 22% of the source for the Texas power grid, but Texas has up to now no pumped water storage, and until this is fixed coal and natural gas backup must be provided when the wind doesn’t blow. This leg will provide 4 GWh of peak power per day from the pumped water storage. In addition the 1.2 GW of Nuclear power can provide virtual hydro-power generation by not pumping water for up to 5 hours and thus provide 6 GWh of peak power daily. This will greatly help stabilize the Texas power grid, and facilitate the phasing out of coal power and help the transition to electric vehicles, which will add stress to the stability of the grid by their uneven recharging patterns.

Leg 4 of the Transcontinental Aqueduct. From Lake Ray Roberts to the Brad Dam (to be built).

Leg 4 of the Transcontinental aqueduct is 15 miles of lake and 100 miles of aqueduct.

Lake Ray Roberts, elevation 625′, must be kept nearly constant.

The elevation at Lake Ray Roberts is 625 feet. From here the aqueduct goes WSW to the Brad dam. It crosses the Brazos river, but does not interfere with it. (This can change if desired). The Brad dam is located just south of the Brad Cemetery on U.S. route 180, 25 miles East of Breckenridge. The dam, yet to be built will top out at 1280 feet with maximum water level at 1270 feet. The total lift of the water in stage 2 is (1,260 – 625 + 100×2) feet = 835 ft. To lift 22,000 cubic feet per second 835 feet requires seventeen 100 MW LFTR nuclear reactors. Lake Brad will contain about 60,000 Acre-ft when full, about one and a half day’s worth of storage. For 5 hours per day these 17 reactors can provide 1.7 GW of peak power to the grid. (The power can also partly be provided by wind power, during which time the LFTR’s can make hydrogen for extra peak power storage).

What’s in it for Texas? The 1.7 GW of Nuclear power can provide virtual hydro-power generation by not pumping water for up to 5 hours and thus provide 8.5 GWh of peak power daily. This has to be done in conjunction with Leg 3.