By ADAM ATKINSON
North Country Now

CANTON -- The company that runs the hydroelectric dams in Pyrites has begun the five-year process to renew its federal operating license for the project.

Pyrites Hydro LLC, a subsidiary of Enel Green Power North America Inc., formally announced its intention to renew the license in August and representatives from the company attended the town board meeting Nov. 14.

A tour of the facility and joint meetings with local stakeholders were held on Nov. 15.

The announcement and meetings are required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and signal the start of a three-stage, five-year process said Kevin Webb, an Enel hydro licensing manager based in Andover, Mass.

FERC, the authority that licenses non-federal hydropower projects, requires license holders to announce their intention to renew about five years before their current license lapses.

Pyrites was last licensed in September 1983 and its current license will expire on Aug. 31, 2023. Licenses are issued for a term of 30 to 50 years. The license specifies the terms and conditions on how the project must be operated.

“This is a small, fairly compact project,” Webb said.

At the town board meeting Wednesday Webb, along with engineer Tim Sullivan and local site manager Scott McIntyre described the plant and the licensing process.

The Pyrites hydro project features two dams, an impoundment area, two powerhouses, one of which is the old factory mill, and three turbine-generator units that generate 8.2 megawatts.

The project runs in what is called a “run-of-river” mode, which means power is generated just from the inflow of the water passing through the turbines. No water is stored and then released to generate power. There is a minimum flow of 45 cubic feet of water per second released back into the river after it generates electricity, Webb said.

Webb said the company was not proposing any changes to the power project in the new license application at this point. Various stakeholders, like the town, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, state Department of Environmental Conservation, and other parties, will have until Jan. 14, 2019 to comment, request studies or suggest changes to the project, Webb said.

After this 60-day comment period, the second phase of the process begins and features a two-year study by Enel of the project and the need for any changes to how the project is run.

Town Councilman Jimmy Smith asked if the Pyrites dam’s flashboard design might be reviewed during the study. Smith said flooding in Pyrites several years ago was thought to have been caused by ice flow impeded by the flashboards. Webb suggested the town submit the concern during the comment period.

Enel, originally based in Italy, operates only renewable energy projects around the world, Webb said, primarily wind farms in the mid west, geothermal projects, large-scale solar farms, and about 50 hydro projects. In the North Country, besides the Pyrites site, Enel runs four power projects in Hailesboro on the Oswegatchie River, just south of Gouverneur.