Hy Power Energy Co. filed an Oct. 28 preliminary permit application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission covering up to three years of feasibility work on a 2.8-MW hydroelectric project in Florida.
The application is made in order that the applicant can secure and maintain priority of application during the permit term for a license for the project. Hy Power Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Hy Power Corp.
The existing Inglis Dam, the bypass channel and the bypass spillway are part of the Cross Florida Greenbelt State Recreation and Conservation Area, owned by the state of Florida and administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The proposed project is on the Withlacoochee River about eleven miles upstream and east of the Gulf of Mexico and two miles east of the downtown area of Inglis, Florida. The by-pass channel connects Lake Rousseau just upstream of the Inglis Lock on the Cross Florida Greenbelt State Recreation and Conservation Area, with the Withlacoochee River as it flows to the Gulf of Mexico. No existing project works are proposed to be altered or modified. The project will have an installed capacity of 2.8 MW, capable of producing about 16.2 GWH in an average year.
It is proposed to construct a powerhouse adjacent to the by-pass channel dam on the north side of the channel that will be about 28 feet wide by 115 feet long, plus an additional open concrete inlet channel of approximately 45 feet, drawing water from the Inglis By-pass Channel, passing it through a single pit type turbine and discharging downstream of the Inglis By-pass Dam.
It is proposed to operate the plant in an automatic mode and it will not be used for peaking loads. The operation will be “Run of the River.” The managers of the lock and dam (the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) will have the right to shut down the operation should they deem it advisable.
A project contact is: Robert Karow, PO BOX 113, 5218 SW 34th Street, Gainesville, FL 32608, 352.336.4727, bobkarow@gmail.com.
