Turn, turn, turn
NEW TURBINE INSTALLED IN BANKHEAD LOCK AND DAM
Story and photos by Justin Averette
Installing a new 207,000-pound turbine at Bankhead Lock
and Dam was a sight to see earlier this summer for Alabama
Power employees and contractors.
Based on sheer size alone, the July project was an
impressive undertaking, and it likely will be a while before
anyone else witnesses another installation. e new turbine is
expected to turn for four or five decades.
"It should be 40 to 50 years before they ever have to pull it
out again," said John Kirkland, Alabama Power's Warrior River
Hydro manager.
e cone for the new turbine was poured in Italy and then
shipped to York, Pennsylvania, where the seven blades were
formed and welded onto it. It was then shipped to Alabama
and slowly lowered into the dam.
"We are installing the new turbine here at Bankhead, which
is the first major step in putting the unit back together and
getting it back in operation," said David Tait, Bankhead Dam
Hydro plant supervisor.
e one-piece solid turbine, built and installed by American
Hydro, replaces a segmented turbine installed in 1997. at
unit currently sits on display on the plant's entrance road – a
hard-to-miss roadside attraction.
"e unit was vibrating, and we couldn't ever get the
vibration out of it," Kirkland said.
Before that, Alabama Power installed its first one-turbine
generating unit at Bankhead Lock and Dam in 1963.
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