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Potsdam east dam hydro power facility officially back online, and making power

Posted 6/22/21

BY ADAM ATKINSON North County This Week POTSDAM — The village’s east dam hydro power facility is officially back online and is making power. Village administrator Greg Thompson told the village …

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Potsdam east dam hydro power facility officially back online, and making power

Posted

BY ADAM ATKINSON
North County This Week

POTSDAM — The village’s east dam hydro power facility is officially back online and is making power.

Village administrator Greg Thompson told the village board at their meeting Monday, June 21 that the facility is up and running following an extensive rebuild project which has lasted a year and a half.

“As of last week, east dam is officially commissioned and is making power,” Thompson said. “We still have a few bugs to work out of the plant but we are working . . . to get that taken care of. But we are very proud to say we are back. East dam is online.”

“That is a very bright spot for the village,” Thompson said.

The two 400-kilowatt hydro generators at the East Dam failed in 2014 and 2015 and the facility has been idle since then. To get the dam generating hydro power again, the village contracted with outside firms in Maine and Pennsylvania to rebuild the dam’s two hydro turbines while other rehab work was done at the hydro facility. The village is financing the $4 million project through New York Power Authority over 15 years. NYPA provided the up front funding for the work. 
The village is hoping to see some revenue from power generated by the dam once the debt it paid.