On May 3, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted a December 2015 application from Energy Resources USA Inc. for a preliminary permit, good for three years, to study the feasibility of the proposed Caesar Creek Lake Dam Hydroelectric Project.
The project would be located at the existing Caesar Creek Dam on the Caesar Creek River, near the City of Waynesville in Warren County, Ohio. The Caesar Creek Lake Dam is owned by the United States government and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The proposed project would consist of: a new 12-foot by 7.5-foot by 9-foot concrete conduit fitted with a 7-foot by 8-foot discharge gate; a new 90-foot-long, 6-foot-diameter steel penstock fitted with a butterfly valve; a new 65-foot by 45-foot reinforced concrete powerhouse containing two 1.4-MW horizontal Francis turbine-generators having a total combined generating capacity of 2.8 MW; a new 200-foot-long by 60-foot-wide tailrace; a new 45-foot-long by 30-foot-wide substation; and a new 2-mile-long, 69-kV transmission line. The project would have an estimated annual generation of 8.24 gigawatt-hours.
During the course of the permit, the commission expects that the permittee will carry out prefiling consultation and study development leading to the possible development of a license application.
