AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File
The Emsworth Dam, Lock and Ohio River Bridge can be seen in Emsworth, Pa. on April 9, 2021.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In southwestern Pennsylvania, eight locks and dams that for decades helped barges move goods along the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers will in a few years also generate enough power for 75,000 homes.
Rye Development, a Boston-based hydropower company, is retrofitting the dams with turbines to generate electricity and says the upgraded structures will limit damage to the rivers’ water quality and fish.
This project is a result of a recent thaw between the industry sector and conservation groups. Conservation groups had long opposed dams that could prevent fish migration, alter water temperature, or cause other environmental problems. Rye is one company that sees the opportunity to increase hydropower production at existing Dams while minimizing environmental harms.
The recent compromises between the industry and environmental groups are reflected in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law, which puts $2.5 billion toward projects including dam removals as well as upgrades at existing structures for hydropower and energy storage.
“We do recognize that (hydropower) is probably going to play some role in the transition. It’s certainly better than coal,”Ted Illston, American Rivers, has advocated for dam removals due to environmental concerns.
Hydropower, which uses water to spin turbines connected with generators, is the second-largest 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.
The industry hasn’t received as much federal funding and tax incentives as wind and solar, but sees room 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 challenge is partly due to the fact that most dams in the U.S. were constructed more than 50 years ago. The risk of dam collapses has fueled demolitions in recent years, with more than 40% of the country’s nearly 2,000 dam removals in the past century happening in the last decade. Many are also being torn down for environmental reasons.
Federal regulators made a significant step towards approving the demolition of the largest dam in American history last month. Removal of the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River near the Oregon-California border would help save the river’s salmon and other fish species that can’t reach breeding habitat because of the structures.
Hydropower industry and conservation groups continue to clash over dams. On Maine’s Kennebec River, conservation groups and state environmental agencies are pushing for the removal of four hydropower dams that block endangered Atlantic salmon from reaching key habitat. The dams generate about 5% of the state’s renewable energy.
“It’s very easy for individual river systems to get lost in the message of climate change and the need for renewable energy,”Shannon Ames, executive Director of the Low Impact Hydropower Institute which grades hydropower dams on the basis of environmental criteria, said.
The industry has an easier path to eastern expansion because of the persistent drought that has affected hydropower production west side the Mississippi River.
Rye, a Pennsylvania company, consulted the Low Impact Hydropower Institute at an early stage of its process. Rye is one of a few companies that are seeking certification from this group.
Companies must demonstrate that their structures are protected from endangered species, historic and cultural uses of rivers, passage for fishing, and other recreational areas in order to be certified. According to the group, its environmental standards are often more stringent than federal or state guidelines.
On a recently certified dam in West Virginia on the Ohio River, for example, dissolved oxygen levels — an important measure of river water quality — were meeting or exceeding state standards, according to a five-year study. Some states have green-energy programs that allow dams that are 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. Retrofits are expected be in operation by 2025.