Oswego River Hydro Project is the eighth Brookfield
Renewable Power Project to Earn LIHI Certification in New York State
Hydro Company now has LIHI Certified Projects with an Installed
Capacity of just Over 330 Megawatts at 40 dams
Portland, Maine (July 3, 2008) ---On December 7, 2007, the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) received a certification application for the Oswego River Project. LIHI certification means that the hydropower facility has been found to meet or exceed the Institute's Certification Criteria which address eight key areas: river flows, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed protection, threatened and endangered species protection, cultural resource protection, recreation, and facilities recommended for removal. Certification is designed to provide consumers with assurance that a facility has avoided or reduced their environmental impacts pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute’s criteria.
Brookfield Power Applies for LIHI Certification for the Oswego Hydroelectric Project
On December 7, 2007, the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) received a certification application for the Oswego River Project. LIHI certification means that the hydropower facility has been found to meet or exceed the Institute's Certification Criteria which address eight key areas: river flows, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed protection, threatened and endangered species protection, cultural resource protection, recreation, and facilities recommended for removal. Certification is designed to provide consumers with assurance that a facility has avoided or reduced their environmental impacts pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute’s criteria.
The Oswego Project consists of five developments (Oswego Falls East, Oswego Falls West, Fulton, Minetto, and Varick developments) and comprise two FERC-licensed hydroelectric projects along the Oswego River in Oswego County, New York. The projects are all located at locks and dams owned by the New York State Thruway Authority Canal Corporation (NYSCC), operator of the State Barge Canal System.
The Oswego River is formed at the confluence of the Seneca and Oneida rivers and flows north approximately 23 river miles to Lake Ontario. The Oswego River first flows through the Lock 1 dam impoundment at the Phoenix Project (FERC No. 4113), which is owned by Algonquin Power. The water flow then enters the Oswego Falls impoundment formed by the Upper Fulton Dam (Lock 2, River Mile 12.6). The Oswego Falls East and Oswego Falls West developments (FERC No. 5984) are located immediately below this impoundment.
Once past the Oswego Falls Project, water flow enters the Fulton impoundment. The Granby Project (FERC No. 2837) and Fulton development (part of FERC No. 2474) are located at opposite sides of Lower Fulton dam (Lock 3), approximately one mile below Upper Fulton dam. The Oswego River next enters the impoundment formed by the Minetto dam. The Minetto development (FERC No. 2474) is located near Lock 5, approximately 6.4 miles downstream of Fulton and Granby. Next water flow enters the impoundment at Lock 6 and the High Dam Project (FERC No. 10551), which is owned by the city of Oswego, with Erie providing operation and maintenance support for the plant. Finally, once past the High Dam Project, water flow enters the Varick impoundment. The Varick development (FERC No. 2474) is located near Lock 7, 1.4 miles above the mouth of Lake Ontario.
A. Oswego Falls Project
The dam and forebay gate structures at the Upper Fulton dam are owned by NYSCC. The dam has a weir section and a spillway section for overflow, and the crest is equipped with a 1.5-foot-high pneumatic flashboard system installed and maintained by Erie. To the west of the weir section, there are six Tainter gates, which are owned by NYSCC. The Oswego Falls West Development is located on the left bank (looking downstream), and the Oswego Falls East Development is located on the opposite (right) bank. In accordance with the 2004 Offer of Settlement and 2006 FERC order amending the license for the Oswego Falls Project, a seasonal (June 15 to September 15) upstream eel conveyance system will be installed at the Oswego Falls Project by the end of 2008.
The existing licensed operational mode for the Oswego Falls Project is modified run-of-river operation, which allows for a 0.5-foot impoundment fluctuation. The Project generates with inflows between 652 cfs and 7,158 cfs, and flows outside of this range are spilled at the dam. The licensed bypass flow for the Oswego Falls Project is 236 cfs or inflow, whichever is less. Of this total bypass flow, 70 cfs is released at the East Development, and 166 is released through the No. 1 Tainter gate.
Oswego Falls East Development
The eastern forebay that leads to the intake for the Oswego Falls East Development is located near Lock 2. Licensed project works at the Oswego Falls East Development include the forebay, which is equipped with a trash sluice and electric-operated gate; intake structure with 1-inch trashracks; a concrete and brick powerhouse; three vertical Francis-type turbine-generator units; a tailrace channel separated from the river by a concrete gravity section and earth embankment at the lock by a masonry and concrete retaining wall; and 2.4-kV primary transmission lines and appurtenant facilities and the 2.4-kV station tie to the West Development. The three turbine-generator units each have an installed capacity of 1.5 MW and have a combined hydraulic capacity of 4,230 cfs. Minimum flows at the Oswego Falls East Development are provided through the existing trash sluice gate.
Oswego Falls West Development
Licensed project works at the Oswego Falls West Development include NYSCC’s forebay gate structure between the Tainter gates and western shore of the river that conveys water to the forebay of the powerhouse and currently acts as the 1-inch trashrack structure; forebay; intake headgates and ice and trash sluices; a concrete and brick powerhouse; a tailrace channel separated from the river by a concrete gravity section and from the river bank by a concrete retaining wall; and the 2.4-kV primary transmission lines and appurtenant facilities. As approved in FERC’s September 7, 2006 order amending the license for the Oswego Falls Project, Erie recently performed a maintenance upgrade to replace Unit 3 at the Oswego Falls Development. The Oswego Falls Development now includes four quadruplex-type turbine-generator units (Units 1, 2, 4, and 5) and two vertical propeller turbine units (Units 6 and 7). Units 1 and 2 are inoperable, and Units 4 and 5 have an installed capacity of 0.93 MW each and have a combined hydraulic capacity of 1,860 cfs. Units 6 and 7 each have an installed generating capacity of 0.50 MW and have a combined hydraulic capacity of 832 cfs. The minimum flow at the Oswego Falls West Development is provided through Tainter gate 1, which is adjacent to the pneumatic flashboard section of the dam.
Figure 1. Downstream view of the Oswego Falls East (right) and Oswego Falls West (left) developments at Upper Fulton Dam/Lock 2.
B. Fulton Development
The Lower Fulton dam is a 509-foot-long and 15-foot-high concrete buttress dam topped with 6-inch flashboards. The Fulton Development is located on the right bank (looking downstream) adjacent to Lock 3, and the Granby Development (not part of this application) is located at the left end of the dam. The Fulton impoundment has a surface area of 33 acres with a normal pool elevation of 334.5 ft msl. The bypass reach formed by the Fulton Development is 1,850 ft long.
Inflow to the reservoir is essentially the same as discharge from the Oswego Falls Project, which has a combined hydraulic capacity of 6,922 cfs. The Fulton Development as described in the 2004 Offer of Settlement, operates in a modified run-of-river mode, which allows for a 0.5-foot impoundment fluctuation. When available flow exceeds 2,500 cfs, the Granby powerhouse is activated and flows up to 6,000 cfs are diverted through the turbines.
The licensed baseflow requirement for the Fulton Development is 300 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, and 800 cfs or inflow during walleye spawning season. The provision of this baseflow, in combination with the 75-cfs minimum flow released from the sluice gate adjacent to the Fulton powerhouse, allows the upper bypass reach formed by the Fulton-Granby developments to be backwatered by discharge from the Fulton turbines.
Fulton Development
Licensed project works at the Fulton Development include a concrete intake structure equipped with three steel gates; a 10-foot-long and 40-foot-wide forebay; 1-inch trashracks; concrete and brick powerhouse with two turbine-generator units; a switchgear building; and appurtenant facilities. The Fulton powerhouse contains two vertical fixed-propeller turbine-generator units with generating capacities of 0.8 MW and 0.45 MW and a combined hydraulic capacity of 1,165 cfs. In accordance with the 2004 Offer of Settlement and provisions of the 2006 FERC order amending the license for the Oswego Falls Project, a seasonal upstream eel conveyance system will be installed at the Fulton Development by the end of 2008.
Figure 2. Upstream view of the Fulton (left) and Granby (right) developments at Lower Fulton Dam/Lock 3.
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C. Minetto Development
The Minetto dam is a 500-foot-long, 22.5-foot-high concrete gravity dam topped with 10-inch flashboards. The Minetto impoundment has a surface area of 350 acres with a normal pool elevation of 307.8 ft msl. Licensed project works at the Minetto Development include a concrete intake structure equipped with nine steel gates; a 100-foot-long, 200-foot-wide forebay; trashracks; a concrete and brick powerhouse containing five vertical Francis turbine-generator units with a combined installed capacity of 8.0 MW and combined hydraulic capacity of 7,500 cfs; and appurtenant facilities. In accordance with the 2004 Offer of Settlement, a seasonal upstream eel conveyance system will be installed at the Minetto Development by the end of 2008.
The existing licensed operational mode for the Minetto Development is modified run-of-river operation, which allows for a 0.5-foot impoundment fluctuation. There are no licensed bypass or base flow requirements for the Minetto Development, but the license does include a requirement for a 25-cfs downstream fish passage flow, which is released through an unused bay within the powerhouse.
Figure 3. The Minetto Development at Minetto Dam/Lock 5.
D. Varick Development
The Varick dam is the last dam on the Oswego River before the river’s confluence with Lake Ontario. The Varick Development is located within the city of Oswego, so the lands around the project are relatively heavily developed. The 730-foot-long and 13-foot-high masonry gravity dam contains curved, straight, and gated sections and is topped with a series of stepped flashboards ranging in height from 10 inches to 36 inches. The Varick impoundment has a surface area of 32 acres at normal pool elevation 270.0 ft (msl), and the bypass reach is approximately 1,940 ft long. Licensed project works include an intake structure with 24 steel gates; a 950-foot-long, 150-foot-wide forebay; trashrack structure; ice sluice; concreted and brick powerhouse containing four generating units; and appurtenant facilities. The turbine-generator units at Varick are fixed-blade propeller turbines and have a combined installed capacity of 8.8 MW and a combined hydraulic capacity of 5,600 cfs. In accordance with the 2004 Offer of Settlement, a seasonal upstream eel conveyance system has been installed at the Varick Development and began operating for its first season on May 30, 2007.
The existing licensed operational mode for the Varick Development is modified run-of-river operation, which allows for an impoundment fluctuation of 1 foot from the permanent crest of the dam or top of flashboards, when in place. Licensed flow requirements include a 200 cfs downstream fish flow released adjacent to the trashracks and an additional bypass flow that varies by season, ranging from 200 cfs to 800 cfs, through an existing sluice gate adjacent to the NYSCC head gate. As required by License Article 406, Erie installed a low-level diversion structure along the western side of the Varick bypass reach, near the tailrace of the powerhouse, which allows the majority of the upper bypass reach flow to be diverted to the lower bypass reach during low flow conditions.
Figure 4. The Varick Developments at Varick Dam/Lock 7.
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PUBLIC COMMENT
A 60-day public comment period for the Oswego River Hydroelectric Project runs to February 7, 2008. We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Oswego River Hydroelectric Project meets our Low Impact criteria. Review our program and criteria (click on the "Low Impact Certification Program" to the left), and then review the Oswego River Hydroelectric Project information. Comments that are directly tied to specific LIHI criteria (flows, water quality, fish passage, etc) will be most helpful, but all comments will be considered.
Comments may be submitted to the Institute by e-mail (preferred) at info@lowimpacthydro.org with " Oswego River Hydroelectric Project " in the subject line; by fax at (206) 984-3086; or by mail addressed to LIHI, 34 Providence Street, Portland, ME 04103. Comments must be received at the Institute on or before 5 pm pacific time on February 7, 2008 to be considered. All comments will be posted to the web site and the Applicant will have an opportunity to respond. Any response will also be posted.