Renewable Energy Solutions
Hydropower
America has relied on hydropower to generate electricity for more than 100 years. Today, about 7% of total the U.S. electricity is generated from hydropower, making it the largest source of renewable power.
Today, there are about 80,000 dams in the U.S., but less than 3% of these dams produce power. There is a tremendous opportunity to generate more clean, renewable power at dams we’ve already built. The Oak Ridge National Lab estimates this potential at 12 GW.
Historically, costs are prohibitively high. Civil costs are the largest single component of new hydropower construction, and projects face frequent delays.
FDE Hydro has developed solutions to significantly reduce the cost for new hydropower construction by applying modular, precast technology – a proven technique that is prepared to revolutionize the way new projects are constructed. Precast reduces time, cost and risk in new-build projects.
Decommissioning the Dam in 90 min
October 2, 2017. It took a crew of 4 men and 110-ton hydraulic crane 90 minutes to disassemble and reconfigure the module French Dam system transforming it into a new configuration. The existing dams’ dimensions were 24 ft wide and 16 ft high. We reconfigured the same modules into a simulated new dam system that was a 48 ft wide by 8 ft high water control system using the exact same modules. The advantage of the French Dam modular system is that it can be decommissioned with minimal impact to the existing environment and reduce risk to the surrounding aquatic life.
Water and Dams in Today’s World
French Dam Technology
FDE Hydro has developed a technology, called the French Dam, that is based on are patented modular precast concrete components manufactured off-site in a controlled environment. These modules can be secured to the riverbed through our working platform using rock bolt linkage or similar structural linkage systems to complete your hydro or water control civil infrastructure solutions.
The French Dam is considered by civil engineers and hydro industry experts as a disruptive technology due to the fact that it changes the project financial dynamics, reducing major risk to all Stakeholders and gives the development team a must faster ROI.
Modular Powerhouses
Building powerhouses utilizing modular pre-stress and precast systems provide engineering and construction companies with several benefits such as: cost, project duration reduced by 3/4, labor force reduction, risk reduction and faster ROI for developers. All the above benefits will have your hydroelectric facility online in almost half the time.
As your project site is being prepared, your module precast civil structures will be built off-site at our manufacturing facility. This will allow for simultaneous production of the precast modules which will result in a shorter project time.
Dam Rehabilitation
French Development Designs next generation water infrastructure to withstand the changing climate and dramatic precipitation increases in the North America. These events are stressing our current outdated high hazard civil water infrastructure to the point of one major storm away from catastrophe and possible loss of life.
There are 87,359 dams in the United States, most built mid-20th century. Over 50% of these structures have already exceeded their designed 50-year lifetime span. “Very heavy precipitation events” in North America have increased nearly 70% over the past 50 years, posing new threats to these structures. Flooding (overtopping) is the #1 cause of dam failures in this country (70%).
Water Control Structures
The majority of dams, reservoirs, canals and water control structures in North America have exceeded their 50-year life expectancy, representing a significant infrastructure challenge for the 21st century.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Society for Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) estimate the costs to repair and replace this infrastructure at over $800,000,000,000.
The French Dam Modular Precast System brings next generation water infrastructure to all these critical water supply facilities. The French Dam can adapt to any size, shape, height and width using innovative design solutions.