Iowa City’s Burlington Street dam may generate power again

The Burlington Street dam may once again be producing electricity from its modest drop if a proposal by the University of Iowa to help test a new type of hydroelectric generator gets state funding today.

The University of Iowa is working with AmJet Turbine Systems to test an innovative new style of turbine for low-head dams, according to Larry Weber, director of IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering. He said the modular design might work on many low-head dams - those with relatively little drop - that were previously considered unsuitable or marginally viable for hydroelectric investments.

The UI is asking the Iowa Power Fund board today for $630,000 to assist with the generator testing, which would

generate between 0.3 to 0.4 megawatts of electricity.

If approved, the generator would not be installed at the previous hydroelectric generator location, but rather at an intake structure that once brought water from the river into the basement of the IIHR where a lab was once set up to study fluid dynamics.

The generator will provide power to the UI Physical Plant while it is in use. Although the use is expected to be temporary, Weber said it could eventually lead to the restoration of hydroelectric power to the Burlington Street dam.

The IIHR at UI is frequently approached by manufacturers to test innovations in hydroelectric power, but cannot accommodate all of the requests.

“I think this one's really got a fighting chance,” Weber said. “It's very modular in design.”

Hydroelectric projects have lagged as Iowa has embraced other forms of renewable energy such as wind, biomass and ethanol.

The generator validation project at the UI would use $1.7 million in matching funds along with the $630,000 from the Iowa Power Fund.