Potential Hydroelectric Sites Studied in El Dorado County

By Cathy Locke, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Jun. 25–With high energy prices and the push for environmentally friendly power sources, the El Dorado Irrigation District and El Dorado County Water Agency have commissioned a study of potential hydroelectric projects on the county’s western slope.

Earlier this week, the district board unanimously approved a contract with the Placerville consulting firm EN2 Resources Inc.

Cindy Megerdigian, acting co-manager of the district’s hydroelectric division, said the proposal for a hydroelectric development plan grew out of a January 2007 meeting that included district director John Fraser, representatives of the advocacy group Citizens for Water, the El Dorado County Water Agency, district staff members and representatives of various hydroelectric firms,

The El Dorado Irrigation District and the El Dorado County Water Agency will split the $214,480 cost of the contract with EN2 Resources. The board also approved an additional $42,760 for related district staff costs.

Director Harry Norris voted to approve the contract, but he questioned the prospects for new hydroelectric projects.

“We can look at the engineering feasibility, but what is the political feasibility?” Norris asked.

In the mid-1980s, a series of water storage and hydroelectric dams was proposed as part of the south fork of the American River project (SOFAR), but Norris said, “that got shut down because people didn’t think it was worth doing.”

Rick Lind of EN2 Resources said the study would update some of the SOFAR proposals, particularly an Alder Creek reservoir, as well as project costs.

“Some would no longer be feasible for political reasons,” he said.

Lind said the study also would look at nontraditional options, including small projects within the water delivery system that might allow for peak power generation when the value of power is high. Among projects with the most promise, he said, are ones that would capture water during peak runoff, when there would be fewer environmental impacts.

“We would be looking at off-stream, rather than on-stream storage,” Lind said.

A staff report says the energy markets and regulatory environment have changed since the 1980s. New hydroelectric projects that conform to the California Energy Commission’s Renewable Portfolio Standard can qualify for renewable energy credits, which will command a price premium for new generating capacity, the reports says.

California electric utilities must derive 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2010 and 33 percent by 2025.

The study also is timely, given the financing options available for construction of new hydropower facilities under the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, the staff report says.

Director Bill George argued that the study was important to ensuring future water and power supplies. “I look at this as long-term — 20, 30, 40 50 years from now,” he said.

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