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Kingsbury, an equipment manufacturing company based in Northeast Philadelphia, is receiving federal support to develop the next generation of parts used in hydroelectric power plants.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the company’s involvement in a research partnership with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Monday.
“One of the challenges with hydropower is that there are not many ways that you can test large new innovations in hydropower,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson during a tour of Kingsbury’s Philadelphia manufacturing facility. “We’re able to expedite innovation going from idea to manufacturing to deployment.”
The Department of Energy aims to increase energy production from hydropower and maintain and upgrade existing plants, a spokesperson said. Hydropower makes up just under 6% of the country’s electricity generation. Half of this hydropower is produced in Washington, California and Oregon.
Around 1% of the electricity generated in Pennsylvania comes from hydroelectric power, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Most of the electricity generated in the state comes from natural gas.
Kingsbury has manufactured bearings used in hydroelectric power plants, including at the Holtwood Hydroelectric Station in Airville, Pennsylvania, for over a century. The bearings use a thin film of oil between large metal discs to allow pieces to rotate with little friction. Equipment the company invented or made is present in most large hydropower dams across the country, said Mike Brawley, Kingsbury president and CEO. The company also manufactures equipment for the U.S. military, including parts used on Navy warships.
