Pending Application - Newbury Project, Vermont
| Project Name | Newbury |
| LIHI Certificate No. |
N/A |
| LIHI Certificate Term |
N/A |
| Owner | Green Mountain Power Corp. |
| State | Vermont |
| Location | 0.9 River Miles from the Wells River’s confluence with the Connecticut River near the Town of Newbury, VT |
| Installed Capacity | 0.365 MW |
| Average Annual Generation | 882 MWh |
| Facility Type | Run-of-river |
| FERC No. | P-5261 issued March 28, 2024; expires 02/29/ 2064 |
The Newbury Hydroelectric Project is located on the Wells River, in the Village of Wells River, Town of Newbury, in Orange County, Vermont. The Project is located approximately 0.9 river miles from the Wells River’s confluence with the Connecticut River. Originally built in 1912, the dam is a concrete, gravity-type structure that is 90-feet-long by 26-feet-high with a south abutment crest at 464.9 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD 29) and a north abutment crest at 464.4 feet NGVD 29. The spillway is 73.3 feet long by approximately 20 feet high and topped with a 5-foot-high and 73.3 foot-long pneumatic crest gate system. The spillway crest elevation is 458.9 feet NGVD 29, and the normal impoundment level is 463.9 feet NGVD 29 with the crest gate system inflated. The bypassed reach is approximately 590 feet long, and the impoundment is approximately 0.4 miles in length and covers a surface area of 11.4 acres at full pond, with 25 acre-feet of gross storage capacity. The average net head at the project is 34 feet, and the normal tailwater elevation is 430.0 feet NGVD 29.
Additional project facilities include: a 5-foot-diameter, 435-foot-long underground steel penstock; an intake structure; a powerhouse located within the former Adams Paper Company mill building containing a single turbine-generator unit (Unit No. 1) rated at 0.315 MW and a minimum flow unit (Unit No. 2) located approximately 75 feet downstream of the dam rated at 0.05 MW; a tailrace; three 150-foot-long generator leads creating a 480 Volt (V), 3-phase, 150-foot-long underground transmission line connecting to three pole-mounted 167 kVA3 step-up transformers; appurtenant facilities.
Certification History
July 10, 2025: The Low Impact Hydropower Institute has received a complete application for Low Impact Certification of the Newbury Hydroelectric Project. LIHI is seeking public comment on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Project meets the LIHI Low Impact Certification Criteria, as revised in the 2nd Edition Handbook in effect at the time of initial application. Please review the program and criteria in LIHI’s Handbook Revision 2.05 (the handbook version in effect at the time of initial draft application) and then review the Project’s application materials below.
Comments that are directly tied to specific LIHI criteria (flows, water quality, fish passage, etc.) will be most helpful, but all comments will be considered. Comments may be submitted to the Institute by e-mail at comments@lowimpacthydro.org with “Newbury Project Comments” in the subject line, or by mail addressed to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, 68 Harrison Ave Ste 605, PMB 113938 Boston, Massachusetts 02111-1929. Comments must be received on or before 5 pm Eastern time on September 8, 2025 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.
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