Hydro Leader Magazine

07/14/2025

07/11/2025

Check out our article on John Letal of Iris Power, pioneering condition-based maintenance for hydro generators from our July/August issue.

With over 30 years of experience, Iris Power, a Qualitrol company, has established itself as a key partner for hydro operators seeking to optimize the maintenance of their generators. From partial discharge monitoring to rotor flux analysis and offline testing equipment, Iris Power offers a comprehensive suite of tools and services designed to enhance the performance and lifespan of these critical assets. In this interview, General Manager John Letal shares how Iris Power has been at the forefront of the development of solutions that help operators detect potential issues early and avoid costly downtime.

https://bit.ly/44uR3Fj

07/09/2025

Check out our article on new patent boosts InPipe Energy's micro hydro solution from our July/August issue.

InPipe Energy is committed to helping cities and water- intensive industries reduce their energy costs, carbon emissions, and water loss. It does this through an ingenious micro hydro solution that integrates directly into existing municipal and industrial water systems, harnessing the power of the water already flowing beneath our streets without disrupting delivery or affecting the environment. Thanks to a newly patented variable-speed method, InPipe’s micro hydro devices will now be generating energy even more efficiently, regardless of daily or seasonal fluctuations in flow rates. We hear from InPipe Founder and CEO Gregg Semler about all this and more in our interview.

https://bit.ly/4ntwBNL

07/07/2025

Check out our article on Henry Obermeyer's path to smarter spillway solutions from our July/August issue.

For over three decades, Henry Obermeyer has been at the forefront of hydropower innovation, transforming challenges into industry-leading solutions. As the founder of Obermeyer Hydro, he has pioneered advanced spillway gate technology that is now installed in over 40 countries. What began as a hands-on effort to restore an old water turbine has evolved into a career focused on reshaping water control infrastructure. In this interview with Hydro Leader, Mr. Obermeyer shares his journey from a background in metallurgy and mechanical engineering to developing game-changing inflatable spillway gates, all sparked by a simple typographical error in a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license. Obermeyer Hydro

https://bit.ly/44cv9Yu

07/04/2025

Check out our article on Alan Lackner takes the helm at Columbia Basin Hydropower from our July/August issue.

Alan Lackner came to Columbia Basin Hydropower (CBHP) in January after a 30-year career managing hydropower plants in the Pacific Northwest, including Grand Coulee Dam—the place where his father spent his career as an operator and dispatcher. CBHP manages and operates generating stations that the three Columbia Basin Project irrigation districts built on their canals in the 1980s to generate power and offset irrigation costs for their farmers. These stations produce more than 100 megawatts (MW ) of power when water is flowing in the canals. In this interview, Mr. Lackner talks about his priorities in his new position. At a time of transition from selling power to the cities of Seattle and Tacoma to selling on the open market, he plans to increase CBHP’s focus on producing more reliable renewable energy to reduce costs for the basin’s farmers.

https://bit.ly/4eyVinF

07/02/2025

The July/August issue of Hydro Leader is here.

Alan Lackner is the new head of Columbia Basin Hydropower (CBHP), which manages seven hydropower facilities built on the canals and infrastructure of the Columbia Basin Project by its three constituent irrigation districts. We speak with Mr. Lackner about this important synthesis of hydropower and irrigated agriculture, discuss how CBHP offsets costs for local farmers, and learn about the organization’s planned upgrades and envisioned projects.

https://bit.ly/3TRPA6R