PG&E withdraws Potter Valley hydro relicensing, FERC opens orphan project solicitation

California electric utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company has withdrawn its expression of intent to seek a new license for the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project, saying its relicensing would be contrary to the interests of its electric ratepayers. The withdrawal has prompted federal hydropower regulators to institute an "orphan project" process to find interest from other entities in seeking a license for the project. If no other entity seeks and obtains a new license for the project, PG&E would be responsible for surrendering the existing project license.

The Potter Valley Project is located on the Eel and East Fork Russian Rivers in northern California, about 15 miles northeast of the city of Ukiah. Originally licensed by the Federal Power Commission in 1922, and owned by PG&E since 1930, the project includes Lake Pillsbury, impounded by Scott Dam; the Van Arsdale Reservoir, impounded by the Cape Horn Diversion Dam; and a tunnel, penstock and powerhouse located in the headwaters of the Russian River Basin. PG&E estimates the average annual generation of the project to be 19,900 megawatt-hours, with an installed capacity of 9.4 megawatts. The current license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission expires on April 14, 2022, requiring PG&E to submit a new license application by April 14, 2020.

On April 6, 2017, PG&E filed a pre-application document (PAD) and notice of its intent (NOI) to file an application for a new license. But on January 25, 2019, PG&E filed notice of the withdrawal of its NOI and PAD, indicating it is no longer seeking a new license for the project and is terminating its efforts to transfer and sell the project.

In that notice, PG&E said it has "determined that it would be contrary to the interests of its electric ratepayers to continue relicensing the Potter Valley project." PG&E said it had long recognized hte project as "uneconomic for PG&E's ratepayers (i.e. the cost of production exceeding the cost of alternative sources of renewable power on the open market)." PG&E cited "continued declining energy markets, potential increased costs associated with anticipated new license conditions, and challenging financial circumstances" as leading the company to conclude it cannot justify to its ratepayers further expenditures associated with the project.

PG&E noted its anticipation that the Commission would institute its "orphan project" process under the Commission's rules to solicit license applications for Potter Valley from other entities, and expressed its understanding that PG&E would be responsible for surrendering the existing license if no other entity seeks and obtains a new license for the project. PG&E closed by saying it "recognizes the value of Potter Valley to local communities because it provides for the protection of important environmental resources, consumptive water uses, public recreation, and other economic values" which the utility said should be appropriately considered if it is required to file a surrender application.

In response, on March 1, 2019, the Commission issued a Notice Soliciting Applications for a new license for the Potter Valley project within 120 days. The Commission noted that if no other applicant files an application for a license by April 14, 2020, PG&E would be provided with written notice that no timely application for the project has been filed, and would then have 90 days within which to file a schedule for the filing of a surrender application for the project.

Alta Ski Area conduit micro-hydro project

Alta Ski Area has proposed developing a micro-hydropower project along an existing pipeline, and hopes to benefit from a streamlined regulatory process.  Federal regulators have made a preliminary determination that the proposed Alta Micro-Hydro Project, in Alta, Utah, satisfies the requirements to be treated as a "qualifying conduit hydropower facility," which would not require licensing under the Federal Power Act.

Alta's proposed project would include a new powerhouse to be built along the existing underground 6-inch-diameter snowmaking water supply pipeline delivering water from Cecret Lake to the Wildcat Pump House, a new turbine/generating unit with an installed capacity of 75 kilowatts, intake and discharge pipes, and appurtenant facilities.  The unit is estimated to generate between 115 and 225 megawatt-hours annually.  There is no dam associated with the project.  Alta presented its micro-hydro project as part of a 2012 request to update its master plan, which the U.S. Forest Service accepted.

Ski areas with snowmaking capacity typically have existing pipelines and water infrastructure, coupled with significant vertical relief.  This can create opportunities to generate electricity using energy harvested from water flowing downhill through a pipeline, particularly if reducing system pressure (like a pressure relief valve) is otherwise needed. 

A 2013 law was designed to help small conduit-based hydropower projects by eliminating their need for a license or exemption from licensing issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  Section 4 of the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 amended Section 30 of the Federal Power Act.  Section 30 now provides that a "qualifying conduit hydropower facility" -- one that is determined or deemed to meet defined criteria -- is not required to be licensed or exempted from licensing under the Federal Power Act.  These criteria include:

• The conduit the facility uses a tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance that is operated for the distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of electricity.
• The facility is constructed, operated, or maintained for the generation of electric power and uses for such generation only the hydroelectric potential of a non-federally owned conduit.
• The facility has an installed capacity that does not exceed 5 megawatts. 
• On or before August 9, 2013, the facility is not licensed, or exempted from the licensing requirements of Part I of the FPA.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission administers this statute.  To start the regulatory process, on May 16, 2016, Alta filed a notice of intent to construct a qualifying conduit hydropower facility.  Alta supplemented its notice on May 20 to clarify that the project "will only operate when there is excess capacity available in the pipeline and when water is hydrologically available", generally after the winter snowmaking season, during spring runoff.  Alta also restated that the pipeline's main purpose will continue to be snowmaking.

Yesterday the FERC issued its notice of preliminary determination of a qualifying conduit hydropower facility for Alta's project.  That notice examines the project relative to each of the four statutory criteria, and then provides the Commission's preliminary determination:

The proposed addition of the hydroelectric project along the existing water supply pipeline will not alter its primary consumptive purpose. Therefore, based upon the above criteria, Commission staff preliminarily determines that the proposal satisfies the requirements for a qualifying conduit hydropower facility, which is not required to be licensed or exempted from licensing.

The notice also sets a 30-day deadline for filing motions to intervene, and a 45-day deadline for filing comments contesting whether the facility meets the qualifying criteria and providing an evidentiary basis.

Other recently proposed conduit hydro projects have been determined to be qualifying conduit hydropower facilities, including a Colorado project using an existing "ditch drop," a Castle Valley, Utah water treatment project, a California wholesale water agency conduit project, and a New Hampshire water works.

Hydro relicensing and intervention timing

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issues hydropower licenses for terms of up to 50 years.  At least 5 years before license expiration, the licensee is required to notify the Commission and the public whether it intends to apply for a new license for the project, and what licensing process it requests.  Any license application might not come for years after the filing of that notice of intent.  But as a recent Commission order shows, the opportunity for a third party to intervene in the relicensing case is triggered not by the notice of intent, but only after an application for a new license is actually filed and notice is published.

That recent order involved New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG), the licensee for the Upper Mechanicville Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 2934.  The Upper Mechanicville project is located on the Hudson River in upstate New York, and has an authorized capacity of 18.5 megawatts.  Its original license, issued in 1981 for a 40-year term, expires on March 31, 2021.

On March 30, 2016, NYSEG filed a Notice of Intent to relicense the project, under the Commission's Integrated Licensing Process or ILP, along with a Pre-Application Document.

On April 13, 2016, the New York State Council of Trout Unlimited filed a motion to intervene in the docket, citing Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure.  But on May 24, the Commission issued a notice dismissing that motion.

The notice first points to Rule 214(a)(3) of its procedural order, any person may seek to intervene and become a party in a proceeding by filing a motion to intervene that complies with the content requirements of Rule 214(b).  But the notice states that because NYSEG has not yet filed an application for a new license, there is no proceeding in which to intervene.  It therefore dismissed the motion to intervene as premature.

The notice does offer the Trout Unlimited group two other approaches to involvement.  First, it suggests that interested persons can register and eSubscribe to the docket.  Second, it notes that should NYSEG file an application for a new license for its project, notice of the application will be published, and interested entities "will have an opportunity to intervene and present views concerning the project as proposed in the license application."

Successive preliminary permit for Cave Run hydro project

Federal energy regulators have issued an order issuing a successive preliminary permit to Cave Run Energy, LLC for a proposed hydroelectric project to be located at a dam in Kentucky owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Federal Power Act provides for federal regulation of most hydropower projects in the U.S. Under Section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. § 797(f), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is authorized to issue preliminary permits for the purpose of enabling prospective applicants for a hydropower license to secure data and prepare material supporting a license application as required by section 9 of the Federal Power Act.  As the Commission has said, "The purpose of a preliminary permit is to preserve the right of the permit holder to have the first priority in applying for a license for the project that is being studied."

In the Cave Run case, on March 23, 2012, Cave Run Energy, LLC filed an application to the Commission for a preliminary permit to study the Cave Run Dam Hydroelectric Project.  The project would be located at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cave Run Dam on the Licking River in Rowan and Bath Counties, Kentucky.  As described in that application, it would include a bifurcation structure to be constructed at the end of the dam’s outlet conduit, a powerhouse containing two turbine/generating units with a total capacity of 6.0 megawatts, a penstock and a 12.7-kilovolt transmission line.  The proposed project would use surplus water released from the Cave Run dam by the Corps.

The Commission granted Cave Run Energy a preliminary permit by order dated July 13, 2012.  That order provided that the preliminary permit was effective "for a period effective the first day of the month in which this permit is issued, and ending either 36 months from the effective date or on the date that a development application submitted by the permittee has been accepted for filing, whichever occurs first."   In the ensuing months, the applicant conducted studies and outreach, and filed a pre-application document and notice of intent to file a license application for the project.

On August 13, 2015, Cave Run Energy filed an application for a successive preliminary permit for the project.  While many aspects of the project described in the 2015 application were similar to those described in 2012, the generators' total capacity was revised to 4.95 megawatts.

After a public notice period, on February 11, 2016, the Commission issued a successive preliminary permit to Cave Run Energy for two more years.  The order granting the successive preliminary permit notes the Commission's policy to "grant successive permits if it concludes that the applicant has diligently pursued the requirements of its prior permits."  The order cites information provided by the applicant demonstrating progress with the analysis of the project’s feasibility, and towards the development of its proposed project, including the filing of a notice of intent and preapplication document.

As in some previous orders, the order granting Cave Run Energy a successive preliminary permit explains the Commission's reasoning in setting a two-year term for the successive permit.  It notes that the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 authorizes the Commission to extend preliminary permit terms for not more than two additional years if the Commission finds that the permittee has carried out activities under the permit and with reasonable diligence.  The order observes that this legislation suggests that "five years is a sufficient maximum period to prepare a development application."  Accordingly, it granted Cave Run Energy a successive preliminary permit for a 24-month term.

FERC hydro dam relicensing, timing and options

Under U.S. law, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over most hydropower dams and projects.  The Federal Power Act directs the Commission to issue licenses for hydropower projects for a defined term of years, and provides the basis for the FERC hydro relicensing process.  The relicensing process can take years, and often must be started before a licensee has made final long-term plans for the project's fate.  For example, what if a FERC licensee is considering surrendering the license and removing the dam, at the same time that its existing license approaches expiration and a relicensing application is due?

A recent order by FERC staff under its delegated authority in City of River Falls, Wisconsin, P-10489-014, illustrates this dynamic.  The City of River Falls, Wisconsin, holds the license for the River Falls Project on the Kinnickinnic River, in Pierce County, Wisconsin.  When the license for the River Falls Project was issued, the Commission determined that a 30-year term was appropriate and in the public interest.  That current license expires on August 31, 2018.

Because the FERC hydropower relicensing process can take years -- or longer -- licensees who wish to retain licensure are required to start the planning, stakeholder, and application filing processes early.  In the River Falls case, a relicense application will be due by August 31, 2016.  To get the ball rolling, in 2013 the City filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) to relicense the project and Pre-Application Document (PAD) and elected the Commission’s Traditional Licensing Process (TLP).

Meanwhile, the City of River Falls is trying to evaluate the project's future.  The City is considering surrendering the license instead of continuing with relicensing, and to draft and adopt a Kinnickinnic River Corridor Planning Strategy to "reflect a single community vision for the river, with or without the hydroelectric project."

But the studies and deliberation required to evaluate dam relicensing, surrender, or alternatives take time.  Meanwhile, the clock ticks toward license expiration.  The City tried to buy 5 more years, by asking FERC to extend the termination date of its existing license, so that it expires on August 31, 2023.  As described by FERC:

The City states the additional time is needed so that it does not spend time and money relicensing the project only to determine through its Corridor Plan that the license should be surrendered and the project decommissioned. The City believes that a lengthy and expensive licensing process is the wrong process for making such a determination. The City explains that a decision about the future of the project would be made by the fall of 2017, and a notice of intent to relicense the project or a surrender application would be filed no later than August 31, 2018.

The City's request was supported by public commenters, mostly on the theory that an extension would allow time to explore license surrender and dam removal.

But as expressed in the order, the Commission saw "no reason why the City cannot evaluate both license surrender and relicensing in the remaining time it has to file a relicense application (due August 31, 2016). In fact, analysis of studies and feedback from agencies would help inform its decision of whether or not to continue to pursue the project."  In particular, the Commission did not view the simultaneous City's Corridor Plan process as "unique circumstances or circumstances beyond the City’s control that prevent it from making a determination by August 31, 2016... as to whether to relicense or to surrender the project."

The Commission also distinguished the River Falls case from precedent where it has extended other license terms, either to enable a licensee to amortize the cost of substantial improvements to project facilities or substantial new environmental measures, or to coordinate the license expiration date with the expiration dates of other licenses in the same river basin.

Ultimately, the Commission denied the City of River Falls, Wisconsin’s application to extend the license term for the River Falls Project from August 31, 2018, to August 31, 2023.  As noted in the Commission's order, the "City remains able to work on both a relicensing option and a surrender option while it develops its Corridor Plan should the City wish to do so."

The City has filed its Notice of Intent and Pre-Application Document, and has received Commission approval to use the Traditional Licensing Process.  Any relicense application will be due 2 years before the current license expires, or on August 31, 2016.  In the meantime, the City will presumably continue to explore its options, including license surrender and dam removal, or relicensing the project.

More hydropower relicensure expected

Many U.S. hydropower projects face relicensure by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission within the next 3 years, making hydro project relicensing a hot topic.

The FERC is the nation's primary federal regulator of hydropower facilities.  Under Part I of the Federal Power Act, the Commission's responsibilities over hydropower include issuing licenses for the construction of new projects, relicensing for the continuance of existing projects, and oversight of all ongoing project operations, including dam safety inspections and environmental monitoring.

According to the Commission, about 1,023 issued licenses were active as of April 1, 2015.  Licenses are typically effective for up to 50 years, largely because dams and hydroelectric power facilities are typically long-lived assets and because the regulatory process for licensure is extensive (and expensive for project developers or owners).  Nevertheless, as time marches on, even a 50-year license will ultimately expire, so owners of FERC-licensed hydropower projects must eventually evaluate relicensure. 

Federal law and regulations, including Section 15(b)(1) of the Federal Power Act and 18 C.F.R. §5.5 of the Commission’s regulations, govern the relicensure process.  Between 5 and 5.5 years before an existing license expires, the licensee must notify the Commission whether or not it intends to file an application for a new license.  This filing is known as a Notice of Intent or NOI.  At the same time, the licensee seeking relicensure must also file a Pre-Application Document (PAD).  The PAD must include: (1) a process plan and schedule; (2) a description of the project’s location, facilities, and operation; (3) a description of the existing environment at the project and its resource impacts; (4) a preliminary list of issues and proposed studies; and (5) a list of contacts.  A licensee must also distribute the PAD to appropriate federal, state, and interstate resource agencies, Indian tribes, local governments, and members of the public likely to be interested in the project’s relicensing.

The Commission has noted an anticipated uptick in the rate of relicensure applications.  From October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2014, the Commission has received an annual average of about 12 Notices of Intent to relicense hydroelectric projects.  According to the FERC, 47 licensed projects were in the relicensure process as of April 1.  But even more projects face relicensure in the next 3 years.  According to an April 1 notice issued by the Commission, about 100 FERC-licensed hydropower projects will begin the relicensing process between October 1, 2016, and September 30, 2018.  The Commission thus anticipates the annual average number of Notices of Intent to increase to about 34.

Owners of FERC-licensed hydropower projects nearing the end of their license terms must plan ahead to prepare for relicensure.  Given the expected increase in hydroelectric project relicensure, Commission staff reasonably expects an increase in their workload.  While most existing projects have historically been able to win new licenses, in some cases hydropower project relicensing can become controversial.  Expect the next several years to bring increased relicensing activity.

FERC Order 800 eases hydropower regulations

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued an order streamlining its regulations for some small hydropower projects.  FERC Order No. 800 conforms the Commission's regulations to the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013.  Between Order 800 and the Hydropower Efficiency Act, regulatory processes for developing some small hydropower projects have recently become easier.

Hydropower is one of the nation's most abundant sources of renewable energy -- and yet about 97 percent of the estimated 80,000 dams in the United States do not generate electricity.  While not all are great candidates for hydropower, some non-power dam sites offer significant opportunities to generate renewable electricity with minimal incremental environmental impact.

Congress had these dams in mind when it enacted the Hydropower Efficiency Act on August 9, 2013.  To encourage the use of these dams for electric generation, the Act aims to reduce the costs and regulatory burden on project developers during the project study and licensing stages.  In particular, the Act amended previous statutory provisions covering both preliminary permits and projects that are exempt from licensing.  These statutory changes prompted FERC to update its regulations to conform to the Hydropower Efficiency Act.

Order No. 800 formalizes the Commission's compliance procedures in its revised regulations on preliminary permits, small conduit hydroelectric facilities, and small hydroelectric power projects, and in a new subpart on qualifying conduit hydropower facilities.  Key changes include:

• New regulations recognize the Commission's new statutory authority to extend a preliminary permit once for not more than two additional years, allowing permittees up to 5 total years to complete their feasibility studies without facing possible competition for the site from others.
• Exempt small conduit hydroelectric facilities may now be located on federal lands, and all exempt small conduit hydroelectric facilities may now have an installed capacity of up to 40 megawatts.  Previously, non-municipal small conduit exemptions were limited to 15 megawatts.
• Exempt small hydroelectric power project facilities may now have an installed capacity of up to 10 megawatts.
• Qualifying conduit hydropower facilities, which do not require licensure under the Federal Power Act but do require the filing with FERC of a notice of intent to construct, are now covered under the regulations.

While several of these categories of facility appear similar, each is defined separately by statute.

• A small conduit hydroelectric facility, as defined in section 30 of the Federal Power Act, is an existing or proposed hydroelectric facility that utilizes for electric power generation the hydroelectric potential of a conduit, or any tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance that is operated for the distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of electricity.
• A small hydroelectric power project, as defined in the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), is a project that utilizes for electric generation the water potential of either an existing non-federal dam or a natural water feature (e.g., natural lake, water fall, gradient of a stream, etc.) without the need for a dam or man-made impoundment.
• A qualifying conduit hydropower facility, as defined in the Hydropower Efficiency Act, is a facility that meets the following qualifying criteria: (1) the facility would be constructed, operated, or maintained for the generation of electric power using only the hydroelectric potential of a non-federally owned conduit, without the need for a dam or impoundment; (2) the facility would have a total installed capacity that does not exceed 5 MW; and (3) the facility is not licensed under, or exempted from, the license requirements in Part I of the FPA on or before the date of enactment of the Hydropower Efficiency Act (i.e., August 9, 2013).

In Order 800, the Commission is merely formalizing several practices it has already adopted since the enactment of the Hydropower Efficiency Act.  For example, the Commission has issued two-year extensions to preliminary permit holders, granted a small conduit exemption on federal lands, and issued conduit facility determinations on whether proposed projects are qualifying conduit hydropower facilities.  Nevertheless, the Act and Order No. 800 work together to offer an easier regulatory path for developers of small hydropower projects without new dams.