Factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the Black River project in Springfield, Vermont
There are many good reasons to use New England's small-scale hydropower resources to generate electricity. But current production capacity in the three northern states is only 1300 MW, just 35% of the 3710 MW estimated to be available to the states. Though the benefits of properly designed proj...
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Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, NH (USA). Thayer School of Engineering
1979
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ftunivnotexas:info:ark/67531/metadc1186828 2023-05-15T17:36:22+02:00 Factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the Black River project in Springfield, Vermont Peters, E. Berger, G. Amlin, J. Meadows, D. 1979-03-01 92 pages Text https://doi.org/10.2172/6618265 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1186828/ English eng Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, NH (USA). Thayer School of Engineering rep-no: DOE/RA/04895-1 grantno: AS02-78RA04895 doi:10.2172/6618265 osti: 6618265 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1186828/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc1186828 Financing Institutional Factors Usa 130400* -- Hydro Energy-- Legislation & Regulations Hydroelectric Power Plants Economics Environmental Impacts Vermont 29 Energy Planning Policy And Economy North Atlantic Region Planning North America Low-Head Hydroelectric Power Plants Licensing 293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy Legislation & Regulation 13 Hydro Energy Power Plants Report 1979 ftunivnotexas https://doi.org/10.2172/6618265 2021-03-13T23:08:11Z There are many good reasons to use New England's small-scale hydropower resources to generate electricity. But current production capacity in the three northern states is only 1300 MW, just 35% of the 3710 MW estimated to be available to the states. Though the benefits of properly designed projects seem substantial, many factors combine to hinder their development. The Black River project in Springfield, Vermont, exemplifies the problem. Even after the two has invested over five years and $1 million in its effort to develop 30 MW of capacity, it still has not received either federal or state approval to proceed with construction. The first 4 years of the Springfield experience are described and factors that have greatly increased the cost and planning time for the project are identified. The purpose is to identify changes that could facilitate efforts to develop small-scale hydropower at other acceptable sites. On the basis of this experience it is recommended that: after issuance of a FERC permit, a preliminary determination of the project's impacts should be made by FERC officials; if environmental impacts are solely local or limited, environmental analysis/determination should be placed in the hands of the state; short-form licensing should be used for all run-of-river hydro projects that utilize and do not significantly modify existing water impoundment areas and do not significantly alter downstream flow patterns; and a hydro ombudsman with power at the state level should be established to facilitate governmental inter-agency coordination and project-related information transfer: one-stop licensing. (LCL) Report North Atlantic University of North Texas: UNT Digital Library Low Head ENVELOPE(-58.133,-58.133,-62.150,-62.150) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of North Texas: UNT Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnotexas |
language |
English |
topic |
Financing Institutional Factors Usa 130400* -- Hydro Energy-- Legislation & Regulations Hydroelectric Power Plants Economics Environmental Impacts Vermont 29 Energy Planning Policy And Economy North Atlantic Region Planning North America Low-Head Hydroelectric Power Plants Licensing 293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy Legislation & Regulation 13 Hydro Energy Power Plants |
spellingShingle |
Financing Institutional Factors Usa 130400* -- Hydro Energy-- Legislation & Regulations Hydroelectric Power Plants Economics Environmental Impacts Vermont 29 Energy Planning Policy And Economy North Atlantic Region Planning North America Low-Head Hydroelectric Power Plants Licensing 293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy Legislation & Regulation 13 Hydro Energy Power Plants Peters, E. Berger, G. Amlin, J. Meadows, D. Factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the Black River project in Springfield, Vermont |
topic_facet |
Financing Institutional Factors Usa 130400* -- Hydro Energy-- Legislation & Regulations Hydroelectric Power Plants Economics Environmental Impacts Vermont 29 Energy Planning Policy And Economy North Atlantic Region Planning North America Low-Head Hydroelectric Power Plants Licensing 293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy Legislation & Regulation 13 Hydro Energy Power Plants |
description |
There are many good reasons to use New England's small-scale hydropower resources to generate electricity. But current production capacity in the three northern states is only 1300 MW, just 35% of the 3710 MW estimated to be available to the states. Though the benefits of properly designed projects seem substantial, many factors combine to hinder their development. The Black River project in Springfield, Vermont, exemplifies the problem. Even after the two has invested over five years and $1 million in its effort to develop 30 MW of capacity, it still has not received either federal or state approval to proceed with construction. The first 4 years of the Springfield experience are described and factors that have greatly increased the cost and planning time for the project are identified. The purpose is to identify changes that could facilitate efforts to develop small-scale hydropower at other acceptable sites. On the basis of this experience it is recommended that: after issuance of a FERC permit, a preliminary determination of the project's impacts should be made by FERC officials; if environmental impacts are solely local or limited, environmental analysis/determination should be placed in the hands of the state; short-form licensing should be used for all run-of-river hydro projects that utilize and do not significantly modify existing water impoundment areas and do not significantly alter downstream flow patterns; and a hydro ombudsman with power at the state level should be established to facilitate governmental inter-agency coordination and project-related information transfer: one-stop licensing. (LCL) |
format |
Report |
author |
Peters, E. Berger, G. Amlin, J. Meadows, D. |
author_facet |
Peters, E. Berger, G. Amlin, J. Meadows, D. |
author_sort |
Peters, E. |
title |
Factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the Black River project in Springfield, Vermont |
title_short |
Factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the Black River project in Springfield, Vermont |
title_full |
Factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the Black River project in Springfield, Vermont |
title_fullStr |
Factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the Black River project in Springfield, Vermont |
title_full_unstemmed |
Factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the Black River project in Springfield, Vermont |
title_sort |
factors hindering the development of small-scale municipal hydropower: a case study of the black river project in springfield, vermont |
publisher |
Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, NH (USA). Thayer School of Engineering |
publishDate |
1979 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.2172/6618265 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1186828/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-58.133,-58.133,-62.150,-62.150) |
geographic |
Low Head |
geographic_facet |
Low Head |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
rep-no: DOE/RA/04895-1 grantno: AS02-78RA04895 doi:10.2172/6618265 osti: 6618265 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1186828/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc1186828 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2172/6618265 |
_version_ |
1766135825425235968 |