GE Renewable Energy (www.gerenewableenergy.com) and Cube Hydro Partners have entered into an agreement to provide three aerating turbines for the High Rock hydro-electric power plant in North Carolina.

The first of three 13.4MW units will be delivered in the autumn of 2018 and become operational in the spring of 2019 (www.cubehydropartners.com).

The aerating turbine developed by GE Renewable Energy’s Hydro Solutions business provides environmental benefits for fish and other aquatic wildlife downstream of hydro-electric power plants by increasing the amount of oxygen in rivers. This is achieved by drawing air into the turbine; it is then transferred to the water and increases the dissolved-oxygen levels.

Pierre Marx, North America leader for GE’s Hydro Solutions, said: “This is an important contract for us, because it will tangibly demonstrate our ability to supply this technology to an increasing and important US market.”

Kristina Johnson, Cube Hydro Partners’s CEO, added: “Based on a comprehensive review of GE’s aerating runner technology, we are excited about the environmental benefits this solution brings to the Yadkin River system.”