Tag: Hydroelectric Power Plant

Pumped Storage Power Project Could Be Coming To Northern W.Va.

Rye Development, of Portland, Oregon, on Thursday announced a $1.3 billion investment in a pumped storage power generation facility in Bell County, Kentucky.

An energy company that’s making a big investment in southeast Kentucky also has its sights set on northern West Virginia.

Rye Development, of Portland, Oregon, on Thursday announced a $1.3 billion investment in a pumped storage power generation facility in Bell County, Kentucky.

The same company has also applied for a preliminary permit with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study locating a similar facility in Hardy and Grant counties.

The proposed Cabin Run Pumped Storage project could generate up to 230 megawatts of electricity. For comparison, the largest solar facility in West Virginia generates 19 megawatts.

It works by taking electricity during off-peak hours to pump water into a reservoir. During the hours of peak demand, the water is released, generating hydroelectric power.

The U.S. Department of Energy is kicking in an $81 million grant for the Kentucky project.

Rye Development’s permit application is currently pending before the commission.

West Virginia City Sues for $20 Million Hydro Plant Insurance Claim

A West Virginia city has filed a federal lawsuit seeking a $20 million insurance claim to cover damages at its hydroelectric plant.

The Intelligencer reports that the lawsuit was filed this month in U.S. District Court in Wheeling.

The city’s lawsuit claims Liberty Mutual Insurance Company wouldn’t cover losses at the plant located at the Hannibal Locks and Dam.

The lawsuit says one of the plant’s units was not operational for two and a half years, costing the city money from electricity it could have been producing.

It says bolts and nuts connecting a rubber hub to the turbine shaft were broken or disengaged, among other damages.

The lawsuit says Liberty denied the claim by concluding that the loss fell within an exclusion of coverage.

New Hydroelectric Power Plants Built Along the Ohio River

Hydroelectric generating capacity is on the rise with the construction of new power plants along the Ohio River in West Virginia and Kentucky.

The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register reports that enough new hydroelectricity to power up to 320,000 homes will come online this year.

American Municipal Power President and CEO Marc Gerken says the facilities will help insulate AMP from future carbon regulations and will be a long-term benefit to its members.

AMP officials opened generating units at the Willow Island Lock and Dam in Pleasants County, West Virginia, earlier this year.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said projects also are ongoing at Cannelton, Meldahl and Smithland in Kentucky. When these are complete, the hydroelectricity generating capacity along the Ohio River will grow from 313 megawatts to 554 megawatts.

Companies Propose Ohio River Hydroelectric Project

Two companies are proposing to build a hydroelectric power plant at the Pike Island Locks and Dam along the Ohio River in Wheeling.
 
     American Municipal Power and Free Flow Power Project have submitted competing preliminary permit applications for the project, which must be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The project would generate up to 256,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually.
 
     The Intelligencer and Wheeling-News Register reports the commission is accepting public comments on the project.
 
     The project is being proposed as American Electric Power prepares to close its coal-fired Kammer Plant near Moundsville by the end of next year.
 
     Columbus, Ohio-based American Municipal Power currently operates the New Martinsville Hydroelectric Plant at the Hannibal Locks and Dam. Free Flow Power Project is based in Boston.

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