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FERC issues preliminary permit for Saylorville small hydro project in Iowa

FERC issues preliminary permit for Saylorville small hydro project in Iowa

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a preliminary permit to Kram Hydro 4 LLC for the 10 MW Saylorville Hydroelectric Project (P-15344) in Iowa.

Kram Hydro 4 filed the application in February 2024, proposing to study the feasibility of the Saylorville project to be located at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Saylorville Locks and Dam on the Des Moines River in Polk County, Iowa.

The proposed project would consist of a new 90-foot-long, 30-foot-wide intake channel near the west bank of the Corps’ dam; a new 2,100-foot-long and 20-foot-diameter steel penstock extending from the intake to a new powerhouse; a new 70-foot-long, 120-foot-wide reinforced concrete powerhouse, located downstream of the Corps’ dam, containing two Kaplan pit turbine-generators with a total capacity of 10 MW; an existing tailrace channel used to convey flows back to the Des Moines River downstream of the Corps dam’s discharge channel; a new 13.8- kVa substation adjacent to the new powerhouse; and a new 13.8- kV, 7,000-foot-long, three-phase overhead transmission line connecting the substation to the grid. The project would use water released from the Corps dam.

The proposed project would have an estimated annual generation of 52,000 MWh.

The purpose of a preliminary permit is to preserve the rights of the permit holder to have the first priority in applying for a license for the project that is being studied. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permittee to access lands and does not authorize the permittee to undertake any land-disturbing activities. Permit conditions are framed to ensure the permittee does not tie up a site without pursuing in good faith a study of the project’s feasibility. If the project is found to be feasible, the permittee can use the data and information gathered to prepare an application for a license.

The permit is effective Aug. 1, 2024, and ends 48 months from the effective date or on the date that a development application submitted by the permittee has been accepted for filing, whichever occurs first.