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FERC receives preliminary permit application for Oologah Lake Dam hydro project

FERC receives preliminary permit application for Oologah Lake Dam hydro project
(photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Hydro Renewables LLC has submitted a preliminary permit application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Oologah Lake Dam Hydroelectric Project.

The preliminary permit application was submitted to FERC on May 10.

The site for the project is near Oologah in Rogers County, Ok. Hydro Renewables said the project will use the existing water outlet conduits of Oologah Lake Dam, located on the Verdigris River. The dam is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Tulsa District. The Dam was commissioned with all facilities in 1974.

Oologah Lake Dam is a rolled earth-filled embankment about 4,328 feet long with a maximum height of 137 feet above the riverbed. A controlled spillway about 2 miles east of the left abutment consists of seven 40- x 21-foot high radial gates mounted on a modified concrete weir. The water outlet from Oologah Lake Dam consists of two 19-feet diameter conduits, each with a 9 x 19 feet gate. The capacity of each conduit is 8,786 cubic feet per second (cfs), with the reservoir at elevation 638.0 feet above mean sea level (msl) and 10,414 cfs at elevation 661.0 msl. A 48-inch low-flow pipe is provided for small releases. With all gates, conduits and low-flow pipe open to total capacity at elevation 666.0 msl, maximum release is 173,100 cfs.

The applicant proposes constructing a 24 MW hydroelectric plant using intake water from the left outlet conduit (looking downstream) from Oologah Lake Dam. Water will flow from an extended inlet conduit to the proposed powerhouse and from the powerhouse outlet channel into the Verdigris River tailwater downstream of the stilling basin. The existing left conduit will be extended with a three-quarter-inch steel liner with a flow control valve before transferring water into the stilling basin.

The extended steel liner section will connect to a 19-foot-diameter and about 228-foot-long penstock to transfer the water to the powerhouse. Before entering the powerhouse, the penstock will be split into two 16.5-foot-diameter, 58-foot-long and 49-foot-long penstocks, forming a wye-shaped connection providing two flow streams through two flow control valves to each of the two 12 MW turbines.

The outflow to the Verdigris River is via a 100-foot-long, 63-foot-wide concrete tailrace channel. Power output from the powerhouse will connect via a 0.18-mile 34.5-kV interconnect transmission line to a substation across the Verdigris River.

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.