LIHI Certificate #176 - Shelburne Project, New Hampshire

Shelburne Project, LIHI #176
Sawmill Project, LIHI #173
Shelburne Project, LIHI #176
Nombre del proyecto Shelburne
Certificado LIHI No. 176
Plazo del certificado LIHI August 31, 2020 – August 30, 2030
Dueño Great Lakes Hydro America, LLC, a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable Energy Group
Estado Nuevo Hampshire
Ubicación River Mile 127.6 – Androscoggin River
Capacidad instalada 3.72 MW
Generación media anual 10,470 MWh
Tipo de instalación Flujo de río
Comisión Federal de Comercio No. Shelburne P-2300

Issued in 1994, expires 07/31/2024

The Shelburne Project is located on the Androscoggin River in Coos County, northern New Hampshire. The Androscoggin River is runs through the states of New Hampshire and Maine. The river joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before emptying into the Gulf of Maine and subsequently the Atlantic Ocean. The Androscoggin River watershed contains 19 hydroelectric projects located along the 178-mile-long river.

The Project is the most downstream of several hydroelectric projects within an 11-mile reach of the Androscoggin River between Berlin and Shelburne, New Hampshire, including Upper Gorham (LIHI #175), Gorham (LIHI #153), Cascade (LIHI #188), Cross Power (LIHI #174), y Sawmill (LIHI #173).

El proyecto incluye una presa originally constructed in 1903, central eléctrica, three turbines, and transmission equipment.

The dam is 551 feet long with a maximum height of 17.5 feet and is comprised of:

  • Non-overflow dam sections totaling 146 feet in length.
  • A171-foot-long aliviadero with an 83-foot-long section topped by 9-foot-high tableros de flash and an 88-foot section containing three 25-foot-wide waste puertas.
  • A 27-foot-wide sluiceway adjacent to the waste gates, controlled by a 19-foot-wide sluice gate.
  • A 17-foot-long by 14-foot-wide building housing the gate controllers located on the island adjacent to the sluiceway wall.
  • A 95-foot-long concrete retaining wall located between the sluiceway and the powerhouse.

The powerhouse is constructed of brick and steel framing on top of nine 4-foot-wide concrete piers, each integral with the dam. The upstream face of the powerhouse is flush with the upstream face of the dam. The powerhouse contains a 15-foot-deep by 112-foot-long intake with 3-inch clear spacing trashracks and three vertical Turbinas Francis with a combined capacity of 3.72 MW.

The project operates in a quasi-de pasada mode and impounds a 250-acre reservoir. The impoundment is allowed to fluctuate over a 6-inch range. The project provides a minimum flow of 2 cfs into the short bypassed reach. This flow regime was developed in consultation with US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES).

Waters within the project reach are designated as Class B, suitable for fishing, primary contact recreation, and water supply after treatment. The project waters are listed as impaired due to prior discharges from several paper mills. Given run-of-river operations, the project is unlikely to adversely impact water quality.

The Androscoggin River is not accessible to diadromous fish species in the project reach. Species such as alewife, blueback herring, striped bass, sea lamprey, and American shad are not present in the area due to downstream natural falls – Lewiston and Rumford Falls. American eel are present in the lower reaches of the Androscoggin River though none have historically reached the upper sections of the river. The project area supports cold-water fishery habitat. New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game annually stocks brook, rainbow, and brown trout upstream of the projects. Resident river species include fallfish, smallmouth bass, white sucker, longnose dace, common shiner, spottail shiner, and yellow perch. Downstream passage can occur by means of spillway flow, low-level gate releases, and power intake flow through the trashracks. The project does not impede the successful completion of resident fish life cycles.

The project lands are limited to the area occupied by project infrastructure. A shoreline protection plan was developed for the project to establish a 250-foot buffer from the shoreline. The plan provides provisions for land uses and planting/vegetation removal standards within the buffer. The plan is consistent with New Hampshire’s Shoreland Protection Act. Further, the project’s run-of-river operations provides protection of the shoreline areas.

Threatened or endangered species potentially present in the project vicinity include the Northern long-eared bat, Canada lynx, eastern small-footed bat, little brown bat, tri-colored bat, bald eagle, Cape May warbler, evening Grobeak, rusty blackbird, wood thrush, wood turtle, American marten, peregrine falcon, and common nighthawk. Plant species include auricled twayblade, mountain sweet-cicely, ovoid spikesedge, parasol sedge, pink shinleaf, purple virgin’s-bower, round-leaved orchid, smooth cliff fern, dwarf blueberry, fragrant wood fern, heart-leaved twayblade, and Hornemann’s willow-herb.

The listed bat species are not likely to be impacted by project operations as there are generally no tree-clearing activities or corridor maintenance activities. Some vegetation removal and maintenance occur to ensure dam safety but said activities adhere to the USFWS 4(d) rule concerning habitat protection for the bat species. Most of the other listed species have been noted in the project vicinity but run-of-river operations and impoundment fluctuation limits mitigate any impact on these species.

The project area does not support any known historic or cultural resources. However, the project operates under a Programmatic Agreement (PA) in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office. The PA provides provisions detailing annual monitoring and reporting concerning repair and improvement activities conducted as well as any scheduled activities for the upcoming year.

Recreational resources at the project include interpretative signage detailing the history of the project. Public access is provided free of charge.

Estado de cumplimiento

El Certificado incluye las siguientes condiciones específicas de la instalación:

Condición 1: The facility Owner shall provide updates to LIHI on the ongoing status of Project relicensing, including studies, FERC filings, resource agency consultation, prescriptions and recommendations, and agency comments on study results. LIHI reserves the right to modify the Certificate or conditions based on the outcome of the relicensing.

2024: No material changes or compliance issues were identified. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review. For Condition 1, the project provided a status update and links to relicensing documents.  FERC issued its draft Environmental Assessment on May 23, 2024.

2023: No material changes or compliance issues were identified. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review. For Condition 1, the project reported no changes in status.

2022: No material changes or compliance issues were identified. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review. For Condition 1, the project reported filing the final FERC relicensing application on August 29, 2022.

2021:  There were no reported changes or compliance issues. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review. For Condition 1, the project reported filing of the relicensing initial study report.

2020: La presentación de informes anuales para el Certificado actual aún no ha entrado en vigor.

Historial de certificaciones

1 de enero de 2022: El plazo del Certificado LIHI se ha extendido de acuerdo con la Revisión 2.05 del Manual de Certificación LIHI 2.ª Edición emitido el 1 de enero de 2022. Consulte la tabla de instalaciones anterior para conocer el nuevo plazo.

November 30, 2020: The decision to certify the Shelburne Project became final after the close of the appeals period on November 27, 2020 with no appeals filed. The Certification term is from August 31, 2020 – August 30, 2025. The Certificate includes the following condition:

27 de octubre de 2020:The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) preliminarily approved Low Impact Certification for the Sawmill, Cross Power, Upper Gorham, and Shelburne Hydroelectric Projects located on the Androscoggin River in New Hampshire. This decision is preliminary pending the 30-day appeal window. Only those who commented on the initial application during the 60-day comment period are eligible to file an appeal. Such appeal needs to include an explanation as to how the Project does not meet the LIHI criteria. Appeal requests for one or more of these projects can be submitted by email to comentarios@lowimpacthydro.org with “Androscoggin River-NH Projects” in the subject line, or by mail addressed to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, 329 Massachusetts Ave, Suite 6, Lexington, MA 02420. All requests will be posted to the website. The applicant will have an opportunity to respond and any response will also be posted. Las solicitudes deben recibirse antes de las 5 p. m., hora del Este, del 27 de noviembre de 2020. La solicitud completa y el informe de revisión están disponibles a continuación. Si no se reciben solicitudes de apelación, el período de certificación para cada proyecto será del 31 de agosto de 2020 al 30 de agosto de 2025.

13 de agosto de 2020: The Low Impact Hydropower Institute has received a complete application for Low Impact Certification of the Sawmill, Cross Power, Upper Gorham and Shelburne Hydroelectric Projects located on the Androscoggin River in New Hampshire. LIHI is seeking public comment on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Projects meet the LIHI Low Impact Certification Criteria, as revised in the 2nd Edition Handbook. The application can be found below. Comments that are directly tied to specific LIHI criteria (flows, water quality, paso de peces, etc.) will be most helpful, but all comments will be considered. Comments may be submitted to the Institute by e-mail at comentarios@lowimpacthydro.org with “Androscoggin River-NH Project Comments” in the subject line, or by mail addressed to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, 329 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 6, Lexington, MA 02420. Comments must be received on or before 5 pm Eastern time on October 12, 2020 to be considered. All comments will be posted to the web site and the applicant will have an opportunity to respond. Any response will also be posted.

Archivos de certificación

2020 Certification

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