LIHI Certificate #10 - Worumbo Project, Androscoggin River, Maine, (FERC #3428)
Worumbo Hydropower Project, Maine's first LIHI Certified Project, is Re-Certified
Portland, Maine (July 3, 2008) --- The LIHI Governing Board today re-certified the Worumbo Hydropower Project. The Board's decision, which was unanimous, recognizes that the Worumbo Hydropower Project has avoided or reduced the Project's environmental impacts pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's criteria.
Background
On March 3, 2008, the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) received a re-certification application for the Worumbo 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.
SUMMARY
Facility location: Androscoggin River, Lisbon Falls, Maine,
Average annual generation: about 84.2 GWh
Year FERC license issued: Issued 1985, Amended in 1990 and 1998
Applicant: Miller Hydro Group
Applicant contact: Mark Isaacson, Vice- President Ph. (207) 772-6190
Date initial application posted to website: February 19, 2004
Date public comment period on application closed: April 19, 2004
Certification Date: February 19, 2004
Certification Expiration Date: February 19, 2009 (NOTE: Miller Hydro Group asked the LIHI Board to allow them to accelerate the expiration date of their current LIHI certificate which expires on February 19, 2009, and file right away for a renewal or re-certification of their project for a new five-year term. The LIHI Board accepted MHG's request. The existing certificate will expire on the effective date of the new certificate.)
The Worumbo Project is located on the Androscoggin River at Lisbon Falls, Maine.
The project consists of a dam/spillway, with a crest elevation of 97 mean sea level (" msl") which
includes a gated flood spillway, an ogee spillway with two-foot-high hinged flashboards, a center rock ledge section containing a concrete dike with two-foot-high hinged flashboards, and a 520-foot-long rock-filled timber crib dam with 1.5-foot high pneumatically operated crest gates; an intake section and integral powerhouse with two turbine generators units having a rated capacity of 19.4 MW at an operating head of 30.5 ft. The crest gate/flashboard system is designed to fail when overtopped by two feet of water. The dam creates an impoundment with a surface area of 190 acres at a normal full pond elevation of 98.5 msl. The project is currently operated as a run-of-river project with outflow approximately equal to inflow on an instantaneous basis. The project is also operated to provide seasonally-varied minimum flow releases into the 850-foot-long bypassed river reach between the Durham side dam and the end of the tailrace training wall. Current operation permits the impoundment to be drawn down by a maximum of 1.5 feet. Minimum flow release from the project are maintained at 1,700 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, during impoundment refilling.
Further details about the project can be found by going to the Certified Projects tab and opening Worumbo Project LIHI Certificate No. 10.
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PORTLAND, ME – (May 24, 2004)—The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced that at their May 20th meeting they certified the Worumbo Hydroelectric Project as low impact. The Project is located on the Androscoggin River at Lisbon Falls, Maine.
The 19.4 megawatt facility is owned and operated by the Miller Hydro Group, and licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The Worumbo Project (FERC #3428) became the first hydropower facility to earn LIHI certification in Maine and the tenth nationwide. The LIHI certification program is relatively new, having certified its first plant in March 2001. The Institute's voluntary certification program is designed to help consumers identify environmentally sound, low impact hydropower facilities for emerging "green" energy markets. While some hydropower plants will not qualify, the certified total is expected to grow significantly.
"We are pleased to see a Maine hydro project join the ranks of LIHI certified facilities," said Richard Roos-Collins, chair of LIHI's Governing Board, "and I hope that other Maine facilities will follow Miller Hydro Group's lead." Asked if he thought other Maine projects would seek Low Impact certification, Fred Ayer, LIHI's Executive Director responded, "Yes, and here's why. It is clear to me that there is a growing interest and demand for green electricity products in Maine. If you couple that with the fact that Maine has a large number of recently relicensed hydro projects, it seems to me it then only becomes a question of certifying the supply to meet the growing demand – and LIHI is ready to certify more Maine projects that meet the Institute's criteria."
When asked about the significance of the Worumbo certification, Mark Isaacson, Vice President of Miller Hydro Group said, "We are delighted to be certified by the Low Impact Hydro Institute and hope this certification will lead to an expansion of the market for green electricity in New England. Miller Hydro Group is discussing the sale of Renewable Energy Certificates from the Worumbo Project to Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance, Inc. and Conservation Services Group, Inc. for resale to residential customers in Massachusetts."
The Worumbo Project consists of a dam/spillway, with a crest elevation of 97 mean sea level ("msl") which includes a gated flood spillway, an ogee spillway with two-foot-high hinged flashboards, a center rock ledge section containing a concrete dike with two-foot-high hinged flashboards, and a 520-foot-long rock-filled timber crib dam with 1.5-foot high pneumatically operated crest gates; an intake section and integral powerhouse with two turbine generators units having a rated capacity of 19.4 MW at an operating head of 30.5 ft. The crest gate/flashboard system is designed to fail when overtopped by two feet of water. The dam creates an impoundment with a surface area of 190 acres at a normal full pond elevation of 98.5 msl. The project is currently operated as a run-of-river project with outflow approximately equal to inflow on an instantaneous basis.
The project is also operated to provide seasonally-varied minimum flow releases into the 850-foot-long bypassed river reach between the Durham side dam and the end of the tailrace training wall. Current operation permits the impoundment to be drawn down by a maximum of 1.5 feet. Minimum flow release from the project is maintained at 1,700 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, during impoundment refilling.
SUMMARY
Facility location: Androscoggin River, Lisbon Falls, Maine
Average annual generation: about 84.2 GWh
FERC license: Issued 1985, Amended in 1990 and 1998
Applicant: Miller Hydro Group
Applicant contact: Mark Isaacson, Vice- President Ph. (207) 772-6190
Date application posted to website: February 19, 2004
Date public comment period on application closed: April 19, 2004
Effective date of certification: February 19, 2004
Date certification expires: February 19, 2009
The project consists of a dam/spillway, with a crest elevation of 97 mean sea level ("msl") which includes a includes a gated flood spillway, an ogee spillway with two-foot-high hinged flashboards, a center rock ledge section containing a concrete dike with two-foot-high hinged flashboards, and a 520-foot-long rock-filled timber crib dam with 1.5-foot high pneumatically operated crest gates; an intake section and integral powerhouse with two turbine generators units having a rated capacity of 19.4 MW at an operating head of 30.5 ft. The crest gate/flashboard system is designed to fail when overtopped by two feet of water. The dam creates an impoundment with a surface area of 190 acres at a normal full pond elevation of 98.5 msl.
The project is currently operated as a run-of-river project with outflow approximately equal to inflow on an instantaneous basis. The project is also operated to provide seasonally-varied minimum flow releases into the 850-foot-long bypassed river reach between the Durham side dam and the end of the tailrace training wall.
Current operation permits the impoundment to be drawn down by a maximum of 1.5 feet. Minimum flow release from the project are maintained at 1,700 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, during impoundment refilling.
In reaching its decision to certify the Worumbo Project, the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's Governing Board reviewed the application for certification, as well as the Application Reviewer's report and the Staff report.
The Board's vote to certify the Worumbo Project as a Low Impact facility was unanimous. There were no public commenters on the application, and therefore no party eligible to appeal the facility's certification. As a result, we are able to issue the certification effective February 19, 2004.