|
|
|
By Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
managing editor
KEYSER — The hydro electric dam proposed to be constructed on Jennings Randolph Lake is expected to produce enough energy to service approximately 6,000 homes, but will bring no permanent jobs into the area.
David Sinclair, of Fairlawn Hydroelectric, a subsidiary of Advanced Hydro Solutions of Fairlawn, Ohio, met with the Mineral County Commissioners Tuesday to offer an update on his company's plans to harness the waters of the lake for the purpose of producing electricity.
“We searched over 700 sites and picked seven. Three of those were in West Virginia,” he said, noting that the project at Jennings Randolph is their second.
“We deliberately look at reservoir dams. Most of them belong to the Corps of Engineers,” he said, noting that working with one oversight agency on several projects simplifies the process.
Describing hydroelectric as “a more predictable source of energy” than wind, Sinclair said his company studies various statistics from previous years to determine the history of an area in terms of wet and dry years.
Rather than depending upon the wind, Sinclair said the “availability of water power should be between 98-99 percent.”
Sinclair also assured the commissioners that the addition of a power plant on the lake would not affect the water levels in the reservoir, nor would it interfere with the recreational activities.
“Any arrangements the Corps has made with the kayakers and the fisherman will remain unchanged,” he said.
Fairlawn officials, in fact, have been meeting with the Corps of Engineers to work out the details of water releases so the temperature of the water downstream from the dam can be kept at a constant 55 degrees to protect the trout.
While the Corps would maintain its own intake, the power plant would use a separate intake, and the waters released from both would be regulated in order to maintain temperature once they come together in the North Branch of the Potomac below the dam.
Sinclair said progress is being made fairly quickly on the project, as some work had already been completed by other companies that previously “went through the process but never did the project.
“By the end of July, we will supply the Corps of Engineers with a design,” he said.
They expect to apply for licensure in December and be fully licensed by February 2011. If that process remains on track, construction could begin in mid-2011, with the plant in operation by early 2012.
When Commissioner Janice LaRue asked how many workers would be employed by the facility, however, Sinclair said there would probably not be anyone on site.
“The powerhouse is fully automated,” he said, noting that the Corps of Engineers stationed at the dam would have the capability of shutting the plant down in case of an emergency.
Sinclair asked the commissioners for a letter of support for the project to include in their application for license, and President Wayne Spiggle told him the commissioners would “have a discussion about doing that at a later time.”
Glenn Gilbert, a member of the Mineral County Green Jobs Task Force who has lead the way in getting in contact with Hydro Solutions, was also in attendance.
By Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
managing editor
KEYSER — The hydro electric dam proposed to be constructed on Jennings Randolph Lake is expected to produce enough energy to service approximately 6,000 homes, but will bring no permanent jobs into the area.
David Sinclair, of Fairlawn Hydroelectric, a subsidiary of Advanced Hydro Solutions of Fairlawn, Ohio, met with the Mineral County Commissioners Tuesday to offer an update on his company's plans to harness the waters of the lake for the purpose of producing electricity.
“We searched over 700 sites and picked seven. Three of those were in West Virginia,” he said, noting that the project at Jennings Randolph is their second.
“We deliberately look at reservoir dams. Most of them belong to the Corps of Engineers,” he said, noting that working with one oversight agency on several projects simplifies the process.
Describing hydroelectric as “a more predictable source of energy” than wind, Sinclair said his company studies various statistics from previous years to determine the history of an area in terms of wet and dry years.
Rather than depending upon the wind, Sinclair said the “availability of water power should be between 98-99 percent.”
Sinclair also assured the commissioners that the addition of a power plant on the lake would not affect the water levels in the reservoir, nor would it interfere with the recreational activities.
“Any arrangements the Corps has made with the kayakers and the fisherman will remain unchanged,” he said.
Fairlawn officials, in fact, have been meeting with the Corps of Engineers to work out the details of water releases so the temperature of the water downstream from the dam can be kept at a constant 55 degrees to protect the trout.
While the Corps would maintain its own intake, the power plant would use a separate intake, and the waters released from both would be regulated in order to maintain temperature once they come together in the North Branch of the Potomac below the dam.
Sinclair said progress is being made fairly quickly on the project, as some work had already been completed by other companies that previously “went through the process but never did the project.
“By the end of July, we will supply the Corps of Engineers with a design,” he said.
They expect to apply for licensure in December and be fully licensed by February 2011. If that process remains on track, construction could begin in mid-2011, with the plant in operation by early 2012.
When Commissioner Janice LaRue asked how many workers would be employed by the facility, however, Sinclair said there would probably not be anyone on site.
“The powerhouse is fully automated,” he said, noting that the Corps of Engineers stationed at the dam would have the capability of shutting the plant down in case of an emergency.
Sinclair asked the commissioners for a letter of support for the project to include in their application for license, and President Wayne Spiggle told him the commissioners would “have a discussion about doing that at a later time.”
Glenn Gilbert, a member of the Mineral County Green Jobs Task Force who has lead the way in getting in contact with Hydro Solutions, was also in attendance.
