MA
Deerfield No. 5 P-2323
General information | |
| Waterway | Deerfield River |
| Current status | Active |
| Type of facility | Conventional Hydro |
| Mode of hydropower generation | Peaking |
| Type of permit | FERC License |
FERC information | |
| FERC docket # | P-2323 |
| Permit issued | 3/30/1997 |
| Permit expires | 3/27/2037 |
Ownership and operation | |
| Owner | GREAT RIVER HYDRO, LLC. |
| Owner type | Wholesale Power Marketer |
| Year first online (conventional hydro) | 1974 |
| Transmission or distribution system owner | Western Massachusetts Electric Company |
Power and generating capacity | |
| Number of units | 1 |
| Total capacity from hydraulic turbine-generator units within each plant | 17.5 mW |
| Average annual net hydropower generation | 52,192.9 mWH |
The Deerfield Project is on the Deerfield River, running along the border of Massachusetts and Vermont. Nine hydropower dams make up this project, which received a new license in 1997.
- Water diversions once made 12 of the 66 river miles of the Deerfield barren. After minimum flow requirements were placed in the license, water has returned to these dry reaches in seasonally variant flows.
- Operational changes enhanced the stabilization of reservoir levels, encouraging the growth of fish and bird populations.
- Before the new license, dam operations caused unnatural fluctuating flows in 33 miles of the river.
- Since relicensing, recreation has swelled beyond expectation. New operations held special flow releases and kept water in the river for boating.
- The dam owner also agreed to protect local lands from aggravations such as soil erosion or excessive nutrient depletion, and to manage their flows to protect wildlife habitat.
Related resources
- Deerfield River Project, Deerfield River, Vermont and Massachusetts (License summaries, Northeast)
News and updates
From Idaho Rivers United2/23/2021
Op-Ed: Drive for profit has taken S. Fork, salmon to edge of extinction
From American Rivers2/22/2021