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Northbrook Lyons Falls files license application for 8.59 MW Lyons Falls Hydroelectric

Northbrook Lyons Falls files license application for 8.59 MW Lyons Falls Hydroelectric

Northbrook Lyons Falls LLC has filed a license application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the 8.59 MW Lyons Falls Hydroelectric Project (P-2548) in New York.

Northbrook Lyons Falls is managed and operated by KEI (USA) Power Management Inc.

The project is located on the Moose and Black rivers in Lewis County, New York. The Lyons Falls Hydroelectric Project is comprised of three developments: Lyons Falls Mill, Gouldtown and Kosterville. The existing FERC license was issued on May 6, 1986, and expires on May 31, 2026.

Lyons Falls Mill Development, at the confluence of the Moose and Black rivers, features an “L-shaped” concrete gravity dam with an overall length of 431.5 ft and a height of 10 ft; a 130-acre impoundment at normal pool elevation of 806.5 ft mean sea level (msl); a 125-ft-long penstock to a 1.04 MW generating unit in a 30-ft by 30-ft powerhouse; two 250-ft-long penstocks extending to a 40-ft by 110-ft powerhouse containing three 1.20 MW and one 0.90 MW generating units; eight 2.3-kV generator leads to the transformers adjacent to the primary powerhouse; a 2,640-ft-long overhead transmission line to the circuit breaker for Lyons Falls Mill; and a 540-ft-long overhead transmission line to the utility point of interconnection on the 115-kV side of the transformer in National Grid’s Franklin Street Substation.

Gouldtown Development on the Moose River consists of the east channel dam, a 160-ft-long concrete structure with a crest elevation of 855.0 ft msl and a 10-ft-long sluiceway section; the west channel dam, a 150-ft-long concrete gravity structure including a 84-ft-long spillway section with a crest elevation of 852.0 ft msl and 3.0-ft-high flashboards; a 10-acre impoundment at normal pool elevation of 855.0 ft msl; a 10-ft-diameter, 105-ft-long steel penstock; a powerhouse containing one 2 MW generating unit; the 2.3-kV generator leads; the 5-megavolt-ampere (MVA), 2.2/24-kV transformer in the Gouldtown substation; and a 1-mile-long overhead, 23-kV transmission line from the Gouldtown substation to the Lyons Falls Mill site.

Kosterville Development on the Moose River consists of a 314-ft-long concrete dam and spillway with a crest elevation of 889.5 ft msl; three 10-ft-wide sections of flood control flashboards; a 3-acre impoundment at normal pool elevation of 889.5 ft msl; a 70-ft-long by 30-ft-wide forebay leading to the intake section; a powerhouse containing two generating units, one with capacity of 0.50 MW and the other with capacity of 0.55 MW; a quarter mile, 2.3-kV overhead line to the Gouldtown substation; and a 3-MVA, 2.2/24-kV transformer at the Gouldtown substation.

In the application, Northbrook Lyons Falls said it is continuing with the authorized redevelopment of the Lyons Falls Mill powerhouse. On March 30, 2016, Commission staff approved NBLF’s proposal to redevelop the Lyons Falls Mill Development powerhouse. The redeveloped powerhouse will use the existing dam and spillway. FERC approved the extension of time for the start and completion of construction dates. NBLF anticipates that construction of the new powerhouse will be initiated in November 2025 and completed in March 2027.