Power
Summary
In the 1980s, while completing a fish ladder project around the dam, the city applied for and received a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) exemption to construct a new hydro plant on the dam. Yet, for decades a plant was never constructed, mainly due to economic reasons.
The University of Notre Dame was made aware of the exemption in about 2010. While a for-profit power company would have difficulty justifying the cost of a hydro plant on the dam due to the low head and limited money-making potential, the university had other things to consider. “For us, what we were more interested in was getting the ‘green energy,’ creating the carbon offsets, and having a very long-term payback,” said Paul Kempf, PE, assistant vice president of Utilities and Maintenance with the University of Notre Dame.
Continue Reading
#MemberNewsIDEA
#News#NotreDameUniversity