PROBLEM
Turbine bearing wear
2011 addition to the original power plant built in 1934 is a small 1 MW hydroelectric generator. Main issue comes from variable flow of water. This is negated by a control valve at the intake of the Francis turbine, but the vibration from the turbulent water causes increased bearing wear and the operator previously had imbalance issues. Shortage of skilled workers and long waiting periods for material mean 2 month long outages at minimum.