New Hampshire is set to receive almost $5 million from the federal government for upgrades to hydroelectric facilities.
That money will flow to 17 projects throughout the state to help those facilities replace parts, make repairs, and create new pathways for river creatures to move up and downstream around impoundments.
One of those dams is the Penacook Lower Falls dam in Boscawen, which will use about $900,000 to construct a passage for fish moving downstream.
Madeleine Mineau, the chief operating officer for Essex Power Services, which owns that dam and another that got funding for safety repairs, said the federal money will make projects more economically feasible.
“This is going to allow us to make these improvements years earlier than we would eventually be required to,” she said.
For smaller hydro facilities, infrastructure projects can be a big financial burden and may be pushed off into the future to manage that challenge, Mineau said.
“It's really nice to see the support of this program for hydro because it's an important local, reliable, renewable energy source,” she said. “A lot of times we see a lot of incentive programs to develop new resources, but I think it's really important to also have an emphasis on keeping the resources we currently have online.”
Seven of the New Hampshire dams that received funding are owned by Patriot Hydro, which is based in Manchester.
John Robichaud, who manages those dams, said the projects they’re working on are part of regulation requirements from the federal government or state agencies.
“We have quite a bit of work in the pipeline and and for the federal government to step in and mark or earmark these grant opportunities for us has been tremendous,” he said.
Robichaud said a second round of funding, expected in the coming years, will be important to help dam owners roll out more infrastructure for fish ladders and elevators, which allow fish to move along the river.
Another project funded by this round of grants will help American eels pass up and downstream around a dam in Somersworth owned by Green Mountain Power, a Vermont utility company. Another of their dams in Rollinsford will use federal money to replace parts.
Kristin Kelly, a spokesperson for Green Mountain Power, said they haven’t had trouble funding repairs and upgrades to their dams, but the funding is welcome and will help lower costs for people buying electricity.
“These are important upgrades that will help all of these facilities run more efficiently,” she said.
New Hampshire was one of 33 states to get funding for hydroelectric projects. The money comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
