Hydro station sold to Colorado firm

One of downtown Springfield’s small hydroelectric stations has been sold to a Colorado company, whose chief executive said the company was looking for more small hydroelectric stations.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140930/NEWS02/709309926

Published September 30, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Hydro station sold to Colo. firm By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — One of downtown Springfield’s small hydroelectric stations has been sold to a Colorado company, whose chief executive said the company was looking for more small hydroelectric stations. Gravity Renewables of Boulder, Colo., has purchased Comtu Falls Corp., which owns the signature falls and hydro station located on either side of the Park Street Bridge. Gravity Renewables Chief Executive Officer Ted Rose said Monday that his firm, which owns about a half dozen small hydro stations in the Northeast, had approached the Wallin family of Brandon and Cavendish about purchasing Comtu Falls, which has been in operation about 30 years. Comtu generates about 2.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to power 159 homes, according to Rose. “Our company is dedicated to investing in small hydro plants around the country,” Rose said. “Vermont has a lot of existing plants and we’re really thrilled to take over ownership of Comtu Falls.” Rose said that the purchase from the Wallin family “worked for them and worked for us.” According to contract data on file with the Vermont Electric Power Producers, Comtu Falls receives one of the highest rates for the power it generates of about 17 small hydro producers in the state that sell electricity to that organization. Comtu Falls has a 30-year non-levelized rate that pays it 58 to 34 cents per kilowatt hour for on-peak winter power, and between 29 and 31 cents for on-peak power during the summer of 2014. Off-peak rates are about half that amount. According to VEPP, Comtu Falls’ contract expires in 2018. A hydro station in Hartland, Nantanna Mill, has similar rates for a 30-year non-levelized contract. Other contractors who have levelized rates are paid anywhere from 10.7 cents to 15 cents, by comparison. Rose said that the favorable current contract wasn’t the main attraction for the purchase. “We will be here for the long haul,” said Rose. “We love these small-sized assets and plants that are imbedded in the communities, and under-appreciated and under-loved.” He said that while Gravity Renewables is interested in further Vermont investment, there was nothing “immediate.” Vermont Electric Power Producers executive director John Spencer said that of the five downtown hydro stations, only one other, the Slack Dam owned by Springfield Hydroelectric, sold its power generation to VEPP. Lovejoy Tool Co. operates its dam as a net-metering station, and Factory Falls station, owned by William Handly and just upstream from Comtu Falls, has a contract with VEPP under a different program. According to Springfield Town Manager Robert Forguites, the former Fellows dam and hydro station, which at one time was owned by the town, is now owned by the owners of One Hundred River Street and is currently inoperable.