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Why only 70 years? Does the dam actually crumble to pieces, or is 70 years how long it takes for maintenance costs to equal construction costs?
by sbierwagen 12y ago
Why only 70 years? Does the dam actually crumble to pieces, or is 70 years how long it takes for maintenance costs to equal construction costs?
- cwal37 12y agoSome last longer, some die quicker, it depends on the conditions and upkeep for a particular installation. I threw out 70 years off the top of my head to demonstrate that they tend to last a relatively long time. It also depends on what you consider to be "replacement" vs. "repair". Sometimes all you have left is a concrete shell with rusted out turbine husks, in other cases you just need to replace a few parts. Hydroelectric generation (and water-power in general) has been around for a pretty long time, and there are a lot of different local implementations out there when you get into the details. The badger hydroelectric plant in Wisconsin is 86 years old, and that's just one I happened to know because I collected data on it recently. If you go further east in the states and then across the Atlantic, the plants can get older than that as well. http://www.kaukaunautilities.com/about_us/default.asp?CategoryNumber=7&SubcategoryNumber=1 http://www.kaukaunautilities.com/about_us/default.asp?Catego... EDIT: Oh, and in terms of cost, when planning out capital expenses most hydro projects are assuming a shorter lifespan than actual. I don't have numbers in front of me, but I feel like costs are generally accounted for a 20-40 year lifespan (weighted towards 20), although they do expect the plants to operate for 2-3x as long.