LIHI Certificate #17 - Summersville Project, Gauley River, West Virginia (FERC# 10813)
At their March 4, 2010 meeting the LIHI Governing Board re-certified the Summersville Project.
The Institute's Governing Board has determined that the Summersville Project, FERC No. 10813, continues to meet the Low Impact Hydropower Certification Criteria. The Board's vote to certify the Summersville 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. Certification is effective November 10, 2009 and is valid for five years and will expire November 10, 2014. During the time the Summersville Project is certified as low impact, you may market the Summersville Project facilities as a certified Low Impact Hydropower facility. Certification by the Institute also makes the power produced from the Summersville facility eligible for other "green" power certification programs.
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Portland, Maine (November 25, 2009) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that Gauley River Power Partners, Inc. (GRPP or applicant) has submitted an application for re-certification of the Summersville Hydroelectric Project ("Project") which is located on the Gauley River, in Nicholas County, West Virginia – five miles south of the City of Summersville
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a 50-year license to the City on September 25, 1992 to develop, finance, construct, own, and operate the 80-megawatte (MW) project. This project (FERC 10813), as amended and approved by FERC, is the one being considered for low impact hydropower certification. The project reservoir is Summersville Lake, which the ACOE manages for flood control, low-flow augmentation, and recreation. Project operation is entirely dependent upon the ACOEs' operation of the dam and the hydro project is managed as a run-of-the-river facility.
The Project was certified by LIHI on November 10, 2004 for a five-year term. In the Applicant's filing for re-certification they state that nothing about the project has changed that would affect the certifiability of the Summersville Project.
Site Characteristics
The project and the surrounding area are described in FERC's 1996 Final Environmental Assessment (EA). Additional detail is provided in the 2002 Operating Plan. The following descriptions are primarily from those documents.
The project is located on the Gauley River in Nicholas and Fayette Counties, West Virginia, between Summersville dam and the upper boundary of the Gauley River National Recreation Area (GRNRA). The terrain is rugged and characterized by sharp ridges and narrow v-shaped valleys. The Gauley River does not have a floodplain in the project area.
As operated by the ACOE, the dam regulates water levels in the reservoir and downstream flows. Changes in discharge rate are scheduled not to exceed 1,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) per hour or cause changes in water surface elevations downstream of the dam greater than 1 foot per hour. A minimum flow of 100 cfs is provided at all times. The ACOE is required to provide 20 days of whitewater rafting flows each year beginning the first weekend after Labor Day.
Summersville Lake has a surface area that varies seasonally between 928 acres and 4,280 acres. The minimum (winter) pool of 4,280 acres has a surface elevation of 1,710 feet. The seasonal (summer) pool of 2,790 acres has a surface elevation of 1,652 feet. In the fall, the ACOE lowers the reservoir level in anticipation of heavy snows and rain in the winter and spring months. Recreational boaters raft and kayak down the river, especially during the fall draw down period.
Project Description
The project is located on land owned by the ACOE at their Summersville dam. Project structures include a powerhouse with two hydroelectric turbine-generators, a substation, and a transmission line. The powerhouse and substation are located on the right riverbank, downstream of the dam. The transmission line extends across the downstream side of the dam. The project's powerhouse connects to the ACOE's discharge tunnel via a penstock.
The project reservoir is Summersville Lake, which the ACOE manages for flood control, low-flow augmentation, and recreation. The dam was authorized by Congress in 1938. It was originally constructed in conjunction with two other dams to control flood waters in the Kanawha basin, a 12,300-square-mile area located in three states. The dams operated as a system, control flows into the Ohio River. Summersville dam was built in 1966 at a cost of $48 million (1966 dollars). It is an earthen structure 393 feet high and 2,280 feet long.
The ACOE operates the dam and controls the rate of water released through the dam. The hydroelectric project is, in effect, run-of-the-river – generating power only with the flows that the ACOE releases. Hydroelectric project operations are coordinated with the ACOE on a day-to-day and hour-by-hour basis. When water release rates are sufficient, the project generates electricity.
Water is drawn out of the reservoir through an intake structure that leads to a 29-foot-diameter outlet tunnel, which splits into four steel tunnels each leading to a butterfly valve and a Howell-Bunger valve (HBV). The HBVs aerate the water in its controlled release to the Gauley River. Three of the HBVs are located in the ACOE's valvehouse sited directly downstream of the reservoir and the dam. A 17-foot diameter steel penstock connects the #3 butterfly value to the #3 HBV relocated to the project powerhouse approximately 150 feet downstream of the ACOE's valvehouse. The powerhouse also contains two Francis hydraulic turbines with a total installed capacity of 80 MW. Water is discharged into a tailrace. A step-up transformer is located adjacent to the powerhouse and the 69 kV transmission line connects the project to the APCo facilities via an interconnection point approximately ten miles away.
Flow is discharged through the project as directed by the ACOE per License Articles 309 and 402 and the Operating Plan. The project is reviewed annually and, over time, has been refined to operate at water flows between 600 and 4,300 cfs. Flows within this range are released through one or both of the turbines. Flows below 600 cfs are controlled by the ACOE and released through one or more of the HBVs, as are flows in excess of the (up to) 4,300 cfs released through the turbines. The operating mechanisms for the turbines are controlled automatically, with operations monitored remotely. The controls ensure that flows in the river are automatically maintained in the event of an unscheduled turbine shut down. The ACOE's operational control of the dam and the flows released from the dam are not altered or adversely impacted by implementation and operation of the hydroelectric project.
Public Comments
We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Summersville Project meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Summersville 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 " Summersville 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 January 25, 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.
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At their April 28, 2005 meeting The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) certified the Summersville Hydroelectric Project as low impact.
The project is located on the Gauley River in Nicholas and Fayette Counties, West Virginia, between Summersville dam and the upper boundary of the Gauley River National Recreation Area. The 80 megawatt facility is owned and operated by Gauley River Partners Inc., and licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as Project number 10813.
The Summersville Project is located on land owned by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) at their Summersville dam. Project structures include a powerhouse with two hydroelectric turbine-generators, a substation, and a transmission line. The powerhouse and substation are located on the right riverbank, downstream of the dam. The transmission line extends across the downstream side of the dam. The project's powerhouse connects to the ACOE's discharge tunnel via a penstock.
The project reservoir is Summersville Lake, which the ACOE manages for flood control, low-flow augmentation, and recreation. The dam was authorized by Congress in 1938. It was originally constructed in conjunction with two other dams to control flood waters in the Kanawha basin, a 12,300-square-mile area located in three states. The dams operated as a system, control flows into the Ohio River.
The ACOE operates the dam and controls the rate of water released through the dam. The hydroelectric project is, in effect, run-of-the-river – generating power only with the flows that the ACOE releases. Hydroelectric project operations are coordinated with the ACOE on a day-to-day and hour-by-hour basis. When water release rates are sufficient, the project generates electricity.
The Summersville Project meets LIHI's eight environmentally rigorous Low Impact criteria addressing river flows, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed health, endangered species protection, cultural resources, recreation use and access, and whether or not the dam itself has been recommended for removal. Summersville successfully completed LIHI's application process, which includes a public comment period, review by an independent technical consultant, consultations with state and federal natural resource agencies, and evaluation by the LIHI Governing Board, including leaders in the river conservation and renewable energy fields. The Board's vote to certify the Summersville Project was six in favor, none opposed, and one abstention.
SUMMARY
Facility location: Gauley River, West Virginia
Installed capacity: 80 MW
Average annual generation: 206,000 megawatt hours
FERC license: No. 10813 was issued in 1992 with subsequent amendments
Applicant: Gauley River Partners, Inc.
Applicant contact: Beth Harris (864) 846-0042 ext. 100
Date project certified: April 28, 2005 (effective November 10, 2004)
APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION
On November 10, 2004, the Gauley River Partners, Inc. submitted an application for certification of its Summersville Hydroelectric Project. The project is located on land owned by the US Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) at their Summersville Dam on the Gauley River in Nicholas County, West Virginia, five miles south of the City of Summersville.
The project reservoir is Summersville Lake, which the ACOE manages for flood control, low-flow augmentation, and recreation. The dam was authorized by Congress in 1938. It was originally constructed in conjunction with two other dams to control flood waters in the Kanawha basin, a 12,300-square-mile area located in three states. The dams operated as a system, control flows into the Ohio River.
The dam was built in 1966 at a cost of $48 million (1966 dollars). It is an earthen structure 393 feet high and 2,280 feet long.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No comments were received on this application.