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American Tissue Dam Before Rehabilitation by Swift River

Swift River's Mission

Swift River Company (SRC) develops renewable energy resources.  As project manager, Swift River provides the specialized skills, experience and financing to build and operate hydro in New England. SRC brings all aspects of project development under one management. 

Since 1983, Swift River has managed the Sebec and Collins hydro projects.  After 25 years, SRC sold Sebec in order to consolidate its operations in central Massachusetts.  Three energy projects developed by SRC in early years were sold to Consolidated Hydro Inc. (CHI) and ten other projects were sold to Swift River/Hafslund (see Prior Projects). However, in June 2001, Swift River purchased two operating hydro projects from International Paper Company (IPC).  Woronoco Hydro is located on the Westfield River in Russell, MA and Turners Falls Hydro draws its Connecticut River flow from the canal at Turners Falls, MA. For this acquisition, SRC formed Swift River Hydro Operations (SRHOCO) by merging with D. Hobbs Contracting Inc. (DHC) to rehab these new projects and to operate and maintain all of SRC's small hydro projects.  Additional capacity was then designed and installed at the Woronoco Hydro site in 2007/2008 under a renewed FERC license issued in 2002. Power from Woronoco and Turners Falls Hydro is sold as "green energy" to ISO-New England and RECs are sold to Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and to the regional REC market.

In September 2001, SRHOCO acquired D. Hobbs Contracting to bring experienced design and hydro rehab skills together in order to operate and maintain a portfolio of SRC and SRHOCO projects.  SRHOCO expanded to acquire two former hydro operating companies that were badly in need of rehabilitation.  In May 2004, SRHOCO bought the former hydro plant at the Pepperell Paper Company on the Nashua River and formalized its ownership in the Indian River Power Supply (IRPS) project located on the Westfield River, in Russell just upstream of the Woronoco Hydro site.  That project was an abandoned hydro plant that formerly powered the Westfield River Paper Company for nearly a century. The award by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) of a 10-year contract to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from Pepperell Hydro Company led to effective financing with a loan that funded complete repowering and automation of the hydro facility built in 1917. Without a REC sales contract for IRPS, the best that could be done would be to put 300 kW back on line. However, Indian River also won a 10-year contract to sell RECs, which financed expansion to 1,500 kW and full environmental permitting of IRPS as a run of river hydro facility.

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Sebec Powerhouse in winter 2000 before it was sold in 2007

The merger of DHC with SRHOCO expanded Swift River's operations, maintenance and rehabilitation capabilities for managing and operating new hydro plants.  William K. Fay, SRHOCO's President, is a licensed hydro engineer who has inspected 60 dams for the Massachusetts Dam Safety Division and is authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to perform Part 12 inspections of licensed hydropower facilities.  He and Davis Hobbs have rebuilt many hydro turbines for plants located throughout New England. See SRHOCO's history. To continue this business, Bill's brother Warren, a master machinist, has expanded SRHOCO's capabilities by building a machine shop to refurbish hydro equipment at the Company's headquarters in Wilbraham, Massachusetts.  Davis Hobbs is General Manager of SRHOCO.  The company operates 5 hydro plants and rehabilitates old powerhouses with their original equipment when it is uneconomic to replace it with new, more efficient hydro turbines.

Woronoco Hydro's original equipment was rebuilt, capacities increased, and fully automated for remote control.  SRHOCO has the tools, equipment and shop facilities to fabricate and repair hydroelectric equipment, regardless of its age or design.

Woronoco Powerhouse Before Rehabilitation by SRHOCO

 

 

Woronoco Powerhouse In 2008 After Rehabilitation by SRHOCO

Swift River is one of a few surviving small power producers in New England.   As the large electric companies have sold their generating equipment, most of the smaller private generators have sold their projects or gone out of business.  Swift River is now ready to buy licensed projects from industries who are shutting down their mills or other private developers who no longer wish to compete in the wholesale market for green renewable energy.  SRC formed the Swift River Trading Company (SRTC) to join NEPOOL and to manage ISO capacity payments and REC sales for its own account and for other clients.  A trained operating staff with low overhead costs is the only way to compete against large subsidiaries of electric utilities now buying up the generating capacity of New England.  Natural gas-fired turbines are the region's dominant  and least cost energy technology due to the sift from imports of high priced international oil to the lower priced natural gas flooding into New England.

We believe that stranded costs will be reduced to negligible values as regional electric prices rise due to international fuel cost escalation.  New England's comparative advantage in renewable energy like hydro and wood will soon be re-established to provide low cost energy for power generation.  Wind, biogas and landfill gas are new renewable energy resources in a balanced portfolio of different green technologies that are key to stable electric prices.  The recent announcement that Nation Grid negotiated a 15-year PPA with the Cape Wind project at a price well above the prevailing bundled energy + REC competitive market prices is being widely criticized for killing the price incentive for clean energy certificates in New England.  The 2010 Green Communities Act (GCA) solicitation for competitive bids by renewable energy projects to fill 3% of Massachusetts distribution companies Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) supply sources, will result in far more competitively priced clean energy.

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Turners Falls Hydro's GE Generator for vertical Francis turbine

Contact Information

bulletFor information, sales and customer support, call Peter B. Clark, President
bulletTelephone:  (978) 468-3999 and FAX:  (978) 468-1210
bulletPostal address P.O. Box 149A, Hamilton, MA 01936
bulletElectronic mail: wdhobbs@swiftriverhydro.com

General Information: info@swiftriverhydro.com
Webmaster: pclark@swiftriverhydro.com

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