Indian River Power Supply, LLC

Indian River Power Supply is located at the Russell Dam formerly owned by the Westfield River Paper Company

Swift River Hydro Operations Company completed its acquisition of the Indian River hydro project in early 2004 when it became the majority owner.  A revised exemption application submitted to FERC on August 3, 2004, was accepted as filed by FERC on December 22, 2004 with all prior deficiencies corrected.  While there was extensive resource agency consultation during the last year and a half, FERC plans to issue and solicit written comments on a scoping document to guide FERC's environmental assessment of the rehabilitation project.

The Indian River hydro project is located in the town of Russell on the Westfield River about three miles upstream of Woronoco Hydro (FERC Project #2631) and four miles downstream from Crescent Mills (FERC Project #2986).  The first Russell dam was built on a natural ledge base in 1905 for water power. After spring floods in 1908, a dyke was constructed from the dam upstream about 1,000 feet to prevent future inundation of the bordering lowlands. The power plant was built in 1909 by the Russell Falls Paper Company, which later became the Westfield River Paper Company in 1915.  It was merged into Simpkins Industries Inc. in October 1989 but retained its name and personnel. Simkins Industries then closed the Westfield River Paper Company in 1994 and Indian River Power Supply LLC (Indian River) purchased the abandoned hydro facilities and related parcels of land along the river in July 1999.

The existing, low head hydro facilities operated continuously from 1909 until 1994, providing power for the paper mill.  Indian River intended simply to restart the installed equipment, but when planning to replace rotten trashracks, it became evident that the forebay had filled with silt during the years while the plant was not operating.  The former manager wanted to sell some of the gravel dredged from the river, but failed to inform the Army Corp and MADFW. He was subsequently fined for not obtaining the appropriate permits.  This event induced Indian River to file an exemption application with FERC which had certain information deficiencies that have now been corrected by making additional studies to collect additional data.  The licensing activities forestalled immediate restoration of the abandoned project, while wetland and macroinvertebrate studies were preformed to collect new environmental information.  To date, no significant impacts have been identified that would limit full rehabilitation of the hydro facilities.

Tailrace view of water cascading over the ledge outcropping that forms a natural dam across the Westfield River

No construction occurred after 1920 when one unit was replaced.  Maintenance and repairs continued on a regular basis and the plant was operable at the time that the paper company closed in 1994. The project survived the record 1938 and 1955 floods. Indian River now proposes to complete the FERC Exemption and to begin rehabilitation of the existing turbines and generators in order to commence production while studying the feasibility of capacity additions. The site uses somewhat less than the historic mean flow of the river and depending on the sales price for energy, could be expanded to maximize the full potential of the hydraulic resources available at the site.  Indian River has an option to purchase two used 43" diameter Leffel Type F camelback turbines (each rated at about 720 kW at this head), one of which might be installed in the same pressure case that now houses the 300 kW Holyoke cylinder gate turbine. The other unit now installed in the powerhouse is a 400 kW S. Morgan Smith camel back unit.  However, these rehab plans are being compared to quotations for new and more efficient scroll case designed horizontal Francis runners that for this head and flow have a combined rated capacity of somewhat more than 1.6 MW.  If Indian River is approved as a Class 1 generator by the Connecticut DPUC, the feasibility of modernizing the existing plant would be substantially more economic. In this case, the FERC exemption application would be amended.

1909 Russell Falls rackhouse & powerhouse seen from downstream below the tailrace

The exemption application proposes to operate the facility as a automated run-of-river hydro project interconnected with Western Massachusetts Electric (WMECO) and selling power into the New England ISO system.  It is possible that if the project  were accepted for financing by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, then Indian River would sign a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with a Connecticut utility to sell both energy and renewable energy certificates (RECs) during the term of the contract.  Downstream fish passage and eel-ways will be installed, a minimum bypass flow discharge plan will be adopted and a program to annually clean streambed erosion sediments from behind the dam and out of the forebay will be developed with approval of the resource agencies.

Indian River owns the entire hydro property within the project boundary, including land between the Conrail mainline railroad track and the Westfield River, as well as the right bank of the river from below the tailrace and a half mile above the impoundment.  There are no wetlands along this stretch of the river, with only a few wetland species growing on the edge of Bradley Brook that supplies much of the gravel and silt materials entering the river just upstream of the dam.  This material must be excavated periodically in order to prevent silting up the deep discharge gate.  The dam built in 1908 seen in the foreground in the photo below, has 2' high flashboards, while the 180' long east spillway was designed with only 1' of boards.  The downstream fish passage facility will be installed at the east end of this section of the dam immediately adjacent to the rackhouse.  The gross head with flashboards installed is 25 feet.

It is interesting to note that the powerhouse at this site was originally constructed in what is now the middle of the dam. At that time, it was located on the east bank of the river. However, two major floods washed away the east bank, and the dam was extended across the exposed ledge outcropping another 180' in order to lower the flood height passing over a longer spillway.  This left the powerhouse in the middle of the river.  The next flood damaged it and it was moved to a new location on the eastern shore.  An intake channel was blasted out of the ledge, an intake wall with three intake gates was constructed and the power plant was built 60' further downstream at the end of two new 7' diameter steel penstocks.

Dam during spring flood; note the Ambursen dam section in the foreground and ledge on the far side

The proposed restoration of the 1909 Russell Falls Hydroelectric plant will utilize only structures built in 1909 and in 1920.  The hydro equipment generated continuously until 1994 when the paper mill closed. The structures consist of the concrete gravity dam built by the Ambursen Company in 1908, set on natural ledge, and a wooden rackhouse, two 7' diameter, 60' long steel penstocks, a concrete powerhouse and 20' deep concrete and ashlar-walled tailrace, all still in structurally sound, intact and usable condition.  The dam crest is approximately 425' in length.  Its greatest height is 30', located at mid-channel where the first powerhouse was located.

The rackhouse and intake gates are located on the left bank.  Not far from the right back is a deep sluice gate, built into the dam and used to drain the impoundment for maintenance or in an emergency.  The entire dam is built on a natural waterfall.  The greatest portion of the dam is only 3' to 5' high on the left bank and 10' to 12' high on the right bank.  A 1979 US Corp of Engineers study of this dam concluded that even if there were a catastrophic failure in the main section of the dam, it removal would not leave a cross-section area sufficient to cause flood damage downstream. There are no developments along the river except the Woronoco Dam, which is located 3 to 4 miles downstream and also maintained and operated by SRHOCO.  Both facilities will be operated in tandem with automatic pond level controls to assure run-of-river operations including discharge for downstream fish passage, eel passage and for habitat maintenance in the bypass reach at each dam.

Indian River's wooden rackhouse on left  bank                      The powerhouse is located below the rackhouse

Indian River applied to the Connecticut DPUC in September 2004 for certification as a Class l new hydro generator. This would make the project eligible to sell Class l renewable energy certificates (RECs) that are required in order for distribution companies to comply with the Connecticut renewable portfolio standard (RPS).  The incremental income that would be earned by selling the project's renewable attributes in the expanding REC market would make it possible to substantially upgrade the generating equipment installed at the site. The choices for this project depend entirely on the economics of energy sales.   If Indian River qualifies for Connecticut Class l or if small hydro projects are added to the Massachusetts RPS, Indian River will be able to contract to sell RECs in the next decade, long enough to finance acquisition if new equipment to replace its 90-year old turbine-generators that operated at the Russell site until 1994 when the paper mill went out of business.

General Electric 300 kW Generator, patented in 1893 is installed on Smith McCormick cylinder gate turbine

Indian River purchased the site in 1999, but waited to proceed with its development while applying for a FERC Exemption. Indian River wanted to determine the fish passage and bypass flow requirements before finalizing the equipment specifications for new turbine quotations.  SRHOCO had planned to refurbish the older Leffel camel back equipment that it rigged out of another mill site some years ago. This option would increase output at a low incremental cost, but still would not make optimal use of the flow available at the site.

Leffel camelback turbine stand for two 43" Leffel Type F Francis turbines in SRHOCO boneyard

Indian River's hydro facilities are located at the Russell Dam on the Westfield River. The project  is a very low impact hydro site because the dam has a very low profile because it is built on top of a natural ledge outcropping in the river. There is a very short bypass reach between the toe of the dam and the tailrace pool at the bottom of the ledge. The powerhouse is located only 60 feet downstream of the intake, connected by the two penstocks, and there is a third intake gate available in case another turbine or a flow increase if necessary to optimize the equipment choice for the repowering of the hydro facility.

Satellite image of the Indian River hydro site at the Russell dam on the Westfield River, MA

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