Portland, Maine (December 31, 2009) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that Brookfield Renewable Power has submitted an application for certification of the Fife Brook development.; Fife Brook is a conventional hydropower facility and a component of the Bear Swamp Project . The 610-megawatt Bear Swamp Pumped Storage Project is located on the Deerfield River in Franklin and Berkshire Counties, Massachusetts. The Fife Brook Dam, which impounds the lower reservoir for and is part of the Bear Swamp Project, is located on the Deerfield River between the Deerfield No. 5 and Deerfield No. 4 developments of the Deerfield River Project (FERC No. 2323).

The Deerfield Project has generation and storage facilities both upstream and downstream of the Fife Brook Development. The Deerfield Project eight developments consist of Somerset, Searsburg, Harriman, Sherman, Deerfield No. 5, Deerfield No. 4, Deerfield No. 3 and Deerfield No.2, and have a total installed capacity of 86 megawatts (MW). The Deerfield Project area encompasses a 65-mile reach of the river, including reservoirs. However, in that 65-mile reach there are two developments not owned by TransCanada: North American Energy Alliance's Gardner Falls Project (FERC No. 2334) located downstream of the Deerfield No. 3 development; and the Bear Swamp Project and Fife Brook Dam located downstream of the Deerfield No. 5 development and the subject of this LIHI Certification Application by Brookfield Renewable Power.

Deerfield and Fife Brook coordinate their operations through a March 25, 2005 letter agreement which is used to insure that certain minimum flow requirements of the licenses for the Deerfield River Project and the Bear Swamp Project are met. These flows were established in 1994 as part of the Deerfield River Settlement. The current minimum flow from the Fife Brook is 125 cfs.

The Fife Brook Powerhouse consists of a single generating unit, penstock and intake structure. The project was designed to operate on a run-of-river flow coming from the lower reservoir that is created by the Fife Brook Dam, a component of the Bear Swamp Power Project.

The flow from the Deerfield No. 5 development tailrace discharges to the Bear Swamp lower reservoir. To maintain the reservoir volume balance, Fife Brook station (which is the next conventional facility downstream and is part of the Bear Swamp FERC operating license) is run and flows through the lower reservoir are discharged by Fife Brook.

To accommodate recreational users, a boat slide and stairs were installed for their safety during the 32 white water release events scheduled May through October each year. There are Picnic Area enhancements, including viewing trails along the reach.  All of these facilities are currently accessed by the public on a free and non-discriminatory basis. Parking charges are permitted for the future but have not been implemented.

Public Comments - We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Fife Brook Development meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Fife Brook Development's application. 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 at info@lowimpacthydro.org with Fife Brook Development comments 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 Eastern time on March 3, 2010 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.