Vermont Community Development Association March 14, 2007 Hydro-electric in your community The Cutting Edge

Hydro was the economic backbone of Vermont over 2000 mills: saw mills grist mills woolen mills bobbin mills fishing pole mills small industry

45 Towns own 107 dams Barnet Barre Bennington Brandon Brattleboro Chester Danville Enosburg Essex Fair Haven Franklin Glover Hardwick Newbury Newport Northfield Norwich Pittsford Plainfield Pownal Proctor Readsboro Richford Rutland South Royalton Hartford Londonderry Ludlow Lyndonville Marlboro Middlebury Middletown Springs Milton Montpelier Morrisville Springfield St. Albans St. Johnsbury Swanton Thetford Vergennes Washington Whitingham Windsor Winooski

State owns 85 of ~1200 dams Active Hydroelectric Sites-ANR map Hydropower could be revenue source

One state- owned dam produces power 1,200 sites >300 MW installed capacity Dept. of Energy, 2006

How Hydro Works Spinning Turbine transfers power for either mechanical use – mills- or power- hydroelectric

How Hydro Works Determine the Potential Need to know head and flow! Flow (gpm) x Head (ft)/10= Power ( continuous watts) 500 gpm x 50 ft/10 = 2500 watts or 2.5 kW (ballpark!)

Costs Water to Wire package $850 - $1,100 kW. Approximate all installation costs $ $2,500 KW(per Mike Scarzello, CVPS). Smaller systems can be much more expensive per kW. Typically $4,000 a KW or more. The big cost is permitting and protection mitigation and enhancement.

Only renewable with extensive regulatory requirements: FERC license or exemption need OK from: Vt. Dept. of Environmental Conservation – Dam Safety, Water Quality Division,Hydrology, Wetlands, Lakes, River Management; Vt. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife - Fisheries, Wildlife, Non-game and natural heritage; Vt. Division for Historic Preservation (SHPO); Vt.Public Service Board; &. Vt. Dept. of Public Service. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;

Permitting Costs- can double cost of small projects From FERC-2001 Report on Hydroelectric Licensing Policies, Procedures and Regulations Comprehensive Review and Recommendations Pursuant to Section 603 of the Energy Act of 2000 (protection, mitigation and enhancement)

Legislation Required: State level: H 70 Hydro will not happen without a revised H70 that provides a simple, predictable process for a: 1) Certificate of Public Good for In-State Renewables 2) 401 Water Quality Certificate Legislation Required: Federal level Federal change to put a floor in FERC (500 KW –1 MW). Simplify Conduit Exemption for municipalities Currently 2 KW or 200 MW is same process with FERC.

What does Undeveloped Hydro look like in Vermont? Flood Control Recreation Fish and Wildlife Water Supply Hydroelectric Historic Mill Dams Manchester

Fair Haven – 170 KW

Londonderry –70 KW Bridge Dam provides grade control

Plainfield –124 KW Project may reduce municipal tax rate by 5 – 10%

Diversion: near natural falls or using natural gradient – Twinfield School A diversion project will provide all the power for the school -$60,000 annually.

Crystal Lake 200 KW

Water Supply Dams-Barre 58 KW

Muncipal Water and Wastewater Treatment. Heating and Cooling Systems in Buildings. Energy Recovery within existing conduits:

First Steps Identify potential resource (my website has links to DOE sites). Get copy of report from Department of Public Service on Undeveloped Hydro Potential in Vermont. Preliminary Site Assessment –partnership with community-no site visits, you do the footwork ($1,000 applied to feasibility study). Feasibility study (partial engineering, economics, technology, hydrology)

Resources European Small Hydro Association Other web sites microhydropower.net/ 1.eere.energy.gov/windand hydro/

Lori Barg Community Hydro 113 Bartlett Road Plainfield, Vermont “This white coal from hydro- electric development, free from smoke, soot and cinders….are today producing power sufficient to displace the use of a million tons of black coal annually, and this power can readily be distributed to every small and large town ……and thus revive the hundreds of small factories, which were formerly the hives of industry in so many of our small villages…Again how differently, financially, for our people and state, if this $5,000,000 now paid annually to the coal producers of Pennsylvania and Ohio should be produced and kept within our borders.” Vermont Governor John A. Mead