The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 16 granted a preliminary permit, applied for in September 2013, to Mid-Atlantic Hydro LLC for proposed Button Rock Dam Hydroelectric Project.
The project would be located on the North St. Vrain Creek, on lands in the Roosevelt National Forest, near the town of Lyons, Boulder County, Colo. A preliminary permit grants the developer a three-year exclusivity period to look at project feasibility, with a license application then needed if the decision is to proceed with the project.
The proposed project would consist of: a reservoir having a surface area of 248 acres and a storage capacity of 16,084 acre-feet; a 925-foot-long, 210-foot-high concrete-face earthen dam, with a crest width of 30 feet and a maximum base width of 1,030 feet; an existing 54-inch outlet valve situated near the right abutment and passing through the dam near the valley floor; a steel penstock connecting an outlet valve to an existing conduit and extending downstream for 100 feet; a reinforced concrete powerhouse; one 1.5-MW Francis turbine generating unit; and a 2.3-kV transmission line extending 1.75 miles from the proposed substation to an existing distribution line located at the Longmont Dam.
The estimated annual generation of the Button Rock Dam Project would be 5,000 megawatt-hours.
