Developing Mt. Hope: The megawatt line
After facing numerous obstacles, including opposition and competition, the Mt. Hope pumped-storage project in New Jersey has been licensed by FERC. That license will allow a former iron ore mine site to be used in producing a new resource-hydroelectricity. In early August 1992, after more than seven years of effort, the 2,000-MW Mt. Hope Waterpower Project was licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Getting the $1.8 billion pumped-storage project licensed was not an easy task. It involved 54 submittals to FERC, six public meetings, and costs of more than $12 million. Along the way, the project has withstood competing applications, community opposition, and legal battles. Getting a project of this magnitude off the ground is a challenge for even the most experienced developer. The effort was especially challenging for the Halecrest Company, a local family-owned and operated firm with no previous experience in hydroelectric development. When financing became tight, creative ways were found to raise seed capital for the project. When hydroelectric experience was needed, the company developed a world-class corporate team that carried Mt. Hope through the complexities of the licensing process and beyond. With license now in hand, the project developers are ready to move forward with negotiating power sales contracts and securing construction financing. The resulting project will be the second largest pumped-storage facility in the country-second only to the 2,100-MW Bath County project in Virginia. Mt. Hope will take six years to construct and is scheduled to be phased into operation beginning in 1999.
- OSTI ID:
- 6263841
- Journal Information:
- Hydro Review; (United States), Vol. 11:7; ISSN 0884-0385
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CONSTRUCTION
LEGAL ASPECTS
SOCIAL IMPACT
NEW JERSEY
PUMPED STORAGE POWER PLANTS
US FERC
LICENSING PROCEDURES
FINANCING
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
PEAKING POWER PLANTS
POWER PLANTS
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
130600* - Hydro Energy- Environmental Aspects
130400 - Hydro Energy- Legislation & Regulations