LIHI Certificate #1 -NO LONGER LIHI CERTIFIED as of 5-12-11 - Stagecoach Project, Yampa River, Colorado (FERC #9202)
After ten years, the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District Withdraws from LIHI Certification Program due to their Inability to obtain RECs from their Stagecoach Hydro Project
PORTLAND, ME – (May 12, 2011) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District will not be filing for renewal of their Stagecoach Project LIHI Low Impact Certification. The Stagecoach Project (FERC No. 9202) is located on the Yampa River in Colorado. The facility produces 5,400,000 kilowatt-hours of energy annually, which is enough to power approximately 500 homes. The Stagecoach Project was originally certified by LIHI in 2001 and was the first hydro project to be certified under LIHI's Low Impact Certification Program. That original certification which had a five-year term expired in 2006 the re-certification, which is also for five years, expired in early 2011. We expect to receive more information on the District decision to not file for re-certification. When we do we will update this story.
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Stagecoach Project Becomes First Hydro Project in the USA to Receive Renewal of Low Impact Certification
PORTLAND, ME – (March 28, 2006) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that at their March 16, 2006 Board Meeting, the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District 's Stagecoach Project earned LIHI's Low Impact Certification. The Stagecoach Project (FERC No. 9202) is located on the Yampa River in Colorado. The facility produces 5,400,000 kilowatt-hours of energy annually, which is enough to power approximately 500 homes.
The Stagecoach Project was originally certified by LIHI in 2001 and was the first hydro project to be certified under LIHI's voluntary Low Impact Certification Program. That original certification which had a five-year term expired this month. The new certification, which is also for five years, expires in 2011.
SUMMARY
Facility location: Yampa River, Colorado, 16 miles south of Steamboat Springs
Installed capacity: 800 kilowatts (0.8 MW)
Year licensed by FERC: 1987
Applicant: Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District
Applicant contact: Mr. John Fetcher, Secretary-Manager, Ph.(970) 879-2424
Date certification issued: March 27, 2001
Certificate Number: 00001
Date certification expires: March 27, 2006
BACKGROUND
The Stagecoach facility is owned and operated by the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District. The facility produces 5,400,000 kilowatt-hours of energy annually, which is enough to power approximately 500 homes.
On February 22, 2001 the Institute's Governing Board issued a preliminary certification decision, determining that the Stagecoach Dam and Resevoir met the Low Impact Certification Criteria, and that the facility should be certified as a Low Impact Hydropower Facility. That decision was subject to appeal by any public commenter on the application; no appeals were received, and so the decision became final on March 27, 2001.
In November of 2001, the Governing Board extended the overall term of certification for facilities from 2 to 5 years. Projects such as Stagecoach that had already been certified were offered the extension retroactively, provided they complied with a new program requirement that they file an annual compliance statement. The annual compliance statement is in addition to the requirement to report any violations or changes relevant to the certification when they occur. The Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District agreed to this change and filed their first annual compliance document in April of 2002.
The Institute then amended the certificate for the Stagecoach project to note the new expiration date of March 27, 2006.
Re-Certification Process: At the end of the certification term, certified facility applicants may apply for re-certification by completing and submitting a Re-certification Application Package. This Re-certification Application Package will include:
1. Response to the LIHI questionnaire to determine if any material changes have occurred in the Certification terms that would affect the certification (use the most recent LIHI questionnaire which is enclosed and provide only information that has changed from the original filing). If there are material changes, provide information which responds to the relevant questions on the original certification questionnaire and supporting documentation. If there have been changes in the Low Impact Hydropower criteria, provide information regarding the new or revised questions on the original certification questionnaire and supporting documentation;
2. A sworn statement from an officer of the Applicant that the material presented in the Re-Certification Application Package is true and complete;
3. A waiver of liability signed by an officer of the Applicant stating: "The primary goal of the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's Certification Program is public benefit. The Governing Board and its agents are not responsible for financial or other private consequences of its certification decisions. The undersigned Applicant agrees to hold the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, the Governing Board and its agents harmless for any decision rendered on this or other applications or on any other action pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's Certification Program." and
4. An application fee.
- Each applicant for renewal will be charged a base fee amounting to 20% of the original certification fee;
- If no material changes have occurred and the Low Impact Hydropower criteria have not been revised or if revisions have been made that do not affect the certifiability of the applicant's project, LIHI's Governing Board, based on recommendation from the Executive Director, will issue a Low Impact Hydropower certification and post notice of the certification on the Institute's Web page. There will be no additional charges beyond the base renewal fee.
- If, however, material changes have occurred and/or, the Low Impact Hydropower criteria have been revised in a way that may affect the certifiability of the applicant's project, the LIHI Executive Director will review the package and prepare recommendations to the LIHI Board in accordance with the process for the initial certification. If the LIHI Executive Director needs to hire one of the pre-qualified Application Reviewers, the Applicant will be liable for these costs which are not included in the base renewal fee.