HRC or member-contributedWilkesboro Hydroelectric Company, LLC proposes to construct, operate, and maintain a new 4-megawatt (MW) facility using the existing W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir, which are owned and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir were constructed by the Corps and became operational in 1963 to provide flood control, water supply, recreation, and low flow releases. The 1,475-acre reservoir offers boating, canoeing, kayaking and swimming opportunities. Anglers catch channel catfish, large and smallmouth bass, bluegill, threadfin shad, spotted bass, hybrid striped bass and tiger muskellunge.
Wilkesboro Hydro proposes to operate the project in a run-of-release mode using flows released from the W. Kerr Scott Reservoir by the Corps. Run-of-river projects simply imply that the outflow will be the same as the inflow. They often involve a physical structure, such as a dam, weir or a diversion which for this case is the W. Kerr Scott Dam. The project will be designed to operate with reservoir levels ranging from 1,000.0 feet msl (mean sea level) to 1,030.0 feet msl, and the powerhouse units will release the Corps-directed minimum flows between 125 cfs (cubic feet per second) and 800 cfs.
