Three Hydro Energy Projects Receive $463,810 in Grants from Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

 

“The projects announced today will significantly increase the amount of renewable energy produced in the Commonwealth,” said MassCEC Executive Director Patrick Cloney. “We are thrilled to support organizations making the effort to find ecologically appropriate hydropower projects that can help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.” 

 

“A diversified fuel mix is a critical component of our clean energy future,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., who chairs the MassCEC Board of Directors. “I am pleased the Commonwealth is able to provide the support needed to propel these three hydroelectric projects forward.”  

 

Today’s awards, which total $460,000, include construction grants for two new publicly-owned projects, and one feasibility study for the expansion of an existing, privately-owned hydropower generating station. The Commonwealth Hydropower program is supported by MassCEC’s Renewable Energy Trust Fund, which is funded from renewable energy charges on electric bills, generating roughly $24 million a year to support renewable energy installations and companies throughout the Commonwealth.

 

The two projects receiving construction grants are the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s (MWRA) Disinfection Facility in Ware, and Holyoke Gas & Electric’s Race Street facility in Holyoke. The award for the feasibility study goes Centennial Island Hydroelectric Company’s Lawrence Street Dam in Lowell. All three projects were selected under the second solicitation of the Commonwealth Hydropower program, which was issued in August 2010. Eligible projects are selected on criteria such as technical feasibility, environmental acceptability, the amount of annual incremental energy to be produced, the cost effectiveness of MassCEC’s investment in terms of incremental energy, and the time to project completion. 

 

Details of the grants are as follows:

 

• Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

Location: Ware Disinfection Facility, Ware MA

 

MassCEC awarded a $288,810 grant to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to design and construct a hydroelectric system to be installed in a new pipeline that will provide six million gallons of high quality, raw water per day from the Chicopee Valley Aqueduct in Ware to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife's McLaughlin Fish Hatchery in Belchertown.  The nearly 400,000 kilowatt-hours per year (kWh/yr) of electricity generated by the new system will be used at MWRA’s Ware Disinfection Facility.  The pipeline supplying water to the hatchery will help that facility avoid pumping supply water from the Swift River, thereby saving it approximately 588,000 kWh/yr. In addition, the treated discharge from the hatchery will provide a beneficial increase in flows to the Swift River.  

 

• Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E)

Location: Race Street, Holyoke MA

 

MassCEC awarded a $135,000 grant to HG&E to install two new siphon-style hydroelectric turbines and generators on the Holyoke canal system. The total combined capacity will be approximately 236 kW, and the annual generation is expected to be more than 1,000,000 kWh/yr.  The technology to be used is not common in North America, so this site will serve as a local demonstration of technology that may have broader applicability in Massachusetts.  HG&E voluntarily elected to contribute to MassCEC’s Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund starting in August 2009.

 

• Centennial Island Hydroelectric Company

Location:  Lawrence Street Dam, Concord River, Lowell, MA

 

Centennial Island Hydroelectric Company will study the feasibility of increasing generation at its wholesale electric generating facility on the Concord River in Lowell. MassCEC will provide a grant of $40,000 toward the total $60,000 cost for the study. This hydroelectric station, located on the historic Wamesit Canal, currently has a nameplate capacity of 640 kW and produces approximately 3.6 million kWh/yr. The owners believe this can be increased by up to 2 million kWh/yr with the addition of a new turbine and generator of approximately 800 kW. The feasibility study will address various technical and environmental issues, including the protection of fish that must pass through the facility.  

 

“We've worked hard to find opportunities to develop green energy across our service area and MCEC has been an important partner in MWRA's renewable energy program,” said Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Executive Director Fred Laskey. “This import project will provide a number of benefits. First, the pipeline will ensure cold water for the hatchery year-round. Second, it will reduce energy use by eliminating the need for pumping water from the river. And third, we will be able to make more green power through the hydroelectric generator.”

 

“For the state’s largest fish hatchery, this project enables energy efficient operations, provides cost savings and creates a stable, high-quality source of cold water, which is optimal for growing trout so popular with Massachusetts anglers,” said Mary Griffin, Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game. “I would like to thank the MWRA and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center for supporting this critical project.” 

 

The McLaughlin Fish Hatchery in Belchertown is the largest of five MassWildlife fish hatcheries in the Commonwealth, producing approximately 50 percent of the trout stocked in Massachusetts each year. MassWildlife stocks 600,000 brook, brown, rainbow, and tiger trout into rivers, streams, lakes and ponds around the state annually.

 

Under the new system, most of the water that feeds the hatchery will arrive via gravity feed, which is a stable and more reliable system than relying on pumped water.

 

“HG&E is very grateful for the support of the CEC which will enable HG&E to deploy this new siphon hydro-electric renewable energy technology,” Holyoke Gas & Electric Manager James Lavelle. “MassCEC’s ongoing support has enabled HG&E to increase its portfolio of clean, cost-competitive renewable energy [facilities], which are critical elements of the City’s economic development strategy, and have already led to investment and job creation.”

 

“We are excited about the opportunity to study the full potential of the Centennial Island Hydroelectric Facility in Lowell,” said Olson Electrical Development Co., Inc. Vice President Kevin Olson. “Thank you to grant funding provided by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Commonwealth Hydropower Program. Hydro is a true time-tested, environmentally friendly, renewable energy generation technology that we can continue to rely on, as we have since it fueled our country’s industrial revolution two centuries ago.” 

 

 

Created by the Green Jobs Act of 2008, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has as its mission to foster the growth of the Massachusetts clean energy industry by providing seed grants to companies, universities, and nonprofit organizations; funding job training and workforce development programs; and, as home of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, supporting the installation of renewable energy projects throughout the state.

 

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