WASHINGTON (AP), In southwestern Pennsylvania eight locks and dams have been helping barges move goods along rivers like the Ohio, Monongahela or Allegheny. They will now generate enough power to power 75,000 homes in a few years.
Rye Development, a Boston-based hydropower firm, is retrofitting dams with turbines to produce electricity. Rye Development claims that the upgraded structures will reduce damage to rivers water quality and fish.
The project is a result a recent warming between the industry and conservation organizations, who had long opposed dams that prevent fish migration, alter water temperatures, or cause other environmental problems. Rye is one company that sees the opportunity to increase hydropower production at existing Dams while minimizing environmental harms.
President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, which provides $2.5 billion for projects including dam removals and upgrades at existing structures that are used for hydropower and storage, reflect recent compromises between industry and environmental groups.
We recognize that hydropower will play a part in the transition. It’s definitely better than coal, Ted Illston from American Rivers said. The group has advocated for dam eliminations on environmental grounds.
Hydropower, which uses water to spin turbines connected with generators, is the second-oldest and most important source of renewable energy in the United States after wind power. It accounted for approximately 7% of the electricity produced in the country in 2020.
Although the industry has not received as much federal funding or tax incentives as solar and wind, it sees potential for growth. About 2,500 of the 90,000 dams in the nation produce power. According to the Electric Power Supply Association, non-powered dams could produce enough electricity to power 9 to 12 million homes. This estimate is based on federal data dating back to 2012.
The problem is partly due to the fact that most dams in the U.S. were constructed more than 50 years ago. Dam collapses have fueled demolitions in recent decades, with over 40% of the country’s nearly 2,000 dam removals occurring in the last decade. Some are also being demolished primarily for environmental reasons.
Federal regulators made a significant step towards approving the demolition of the largest dam in American history last month. The removal of four hydroelectric dams along the Klamath River, near the Oregon-California frontier, would save salmon and other fish species from being unable to reach their breeding habitats due to the structures.
Hydropower industry and conservation groups continue to clash over dams. Conservation groups and state agencies are pushing for removal of four hydropower dams blocking endangered Atlantic salmon from reaching critical habitat on Maine’s Kennebec River. These dams account for about 5% of all the state’s renewable energy.
It is easy for river systems to get lost within the message of climate changes and the need for renewable power, according to Shannon Ames (executive director of Low Impact Hydropower Institute), which grades hydropower Dams based on environmental criteria.
With persistent drought affecting hydropower generationThe industry west of the Mississippi River has a direct path to eastern expansion.
Rye, in Pennsylvania, reached out to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute during its early stages of the process. Rye is one small group of companies who are seeking certification by the group.
To be certified, companies must prove that their structures meet the protections of endangered species, cultural and historical uses of rivers, passage to fish, and recreational areas. According to the group’s environmental standards, they are often stricter that federal or state guidelines.
A five-year study found that dissolved oxygen levels on a newly certified dam on the Ohio River in West Virginia were either meeting or exceeding state standards. Green-energy programs are available in some states for dams that have been certified by the organization.
Rye said that its dams will be built in Pennsylvania to support fish migration. Rye also stated that it is currently building a fishing dock because federal regulators require hydropower producers and other hydropower producers to support recreation along rivers. The retrofits will be operational by 2025.
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