Portland, Maine (January 28, 2010) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that Woronoco Hydro, LLC ("Applicant") has submitted an application for certification of the Woronoco Hydroelectric Project ("Project") which is located at river mile 18.5 on the Westfield River in, Russell, Massachusetts. The Westfield River originates in North-Western Massachusetts and flows 78.1 miles to its confluence with the Connecticut River in West Springfield. The Project's operating license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") was relicensed by the previous owner, International Paper Company, and FERC issued the new license to Woronoco LLC on April 30, 2002.

The project's principal features consist of:

(1) two non-contiguous dam sections and an earthen dike;

(2) a penstock intake area leading to a powerhouse, which contains three

turbine/ generator units with an installed capacity of 2.7 MW;

(3) a downstream fish passage facility and three upstream eel ladders;

(4) a 43-acre impoundment at the normal pool elevation; and,

(5) a bypassed reach with three channels, varying in length from 200 to 1,000 feet.

According to the FERC license for this project, there are three generating units. When the license was issued in 2002, the project operated with only one unit (Unit 3, which has a rated installed capacity of 1.9 MW with 30" flashboards). As part of its relicense application, the applicant proposed to rehabilitate the two non-operating low flow units (Units 1 and 2), which have a rated installed capacity of 0.4 MW each. With the rehabilitated units and flashboards, the project would generate at its full capacity of 2.7 MW and, with the Applicant's proposed minimum flow, would generate an estimated average of about 10,350 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity annually.

The FERC license says the project will continue to be, operated in a run-of-river mode, such that outflows from the project are approximately equal to the sum of the inflows to the project impoundment on an instantaneous basis. Woronoco Hydro would operate the project to minimize fluctuations to the impoundment water surface elevation.

Public Comments - We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Woronoco Hydroelectric Project meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Woronoco Hydroelectric Project'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 " Woronoco Hydroelectric Project 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 28, 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.