Lehigh Canal hydroelectric power lease slated for a vote in Easton - lehighvalleylive.com
Lehigh Canal hydroelectric power lease slated for a vote in Easton - lehighvalleylive.com
A proposal to harness the flow of the Lehigh Canal to generate electricity took a step forward last week in Easton.
The city council introduced for a vote as early as Oct. 11 a contract for the project with New England Hydropower Co. LLC, based in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.
City and Northampton County officials have been in talks with the company for years, with concerns about the proposed lease dominating discussions in January.
According to these previous discussions, it’s proposed in the area of Lock 47, also known as the Abbott Street Lock, in Hugh Moore Park near the intersection of Canal Street and Brother Thomas Bright Avenue on South Side Easton. The hydropower system would generate an estimated 4,800 megawatt hours of electricity annually, for sale within Pennsylvania, the proposed lease states.
It remains to be seen if New England Hydropower is on board with Easton’s lease proposal, city solicitor Joel Scheer said. A representative from the company declined to comment last week.
The proposal would be subject to city planning and zoning approval, as well as permitting from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
If it’s approved by FERC, the company would responsible “for inspection, repair and maintenance” of the canal and nearby Chain Dam on the Lehigh River that runs parallel to the canal, according to the city’s proposed lease.
The proposal spells out that consistent flows in the canal must be maintained for the mule-drawn barge rides offered by the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor at the park’s National Canal Museum.
The lease term is proposed for 25 years, from 2023 until 2048, with the company having the option to renew for another 25 years. If the project is not constructed by May 1, 2026, however, the lease would automatically terminate, according to the proposal.
The lease also would require that the property remain open for public access and recreation, except for within the boundaries of the generator.
Under the proposal, New England Hydropower would be required to pay $35,000 annually into a maintenance escrow account — an amount increased by $10,000 every 10 years of agreement.
The proposal has already won a $1.4 million state grant and matching funding from Northampton County.
Lock 47 historically was home to a hydroelectric plant. The Lehigh Canal itself was built between 1827 and 1829 connecting Easton 47 miles north to what was then Mauch Chunk and today is Jim Thorpe in Carbon County. From Easton, the manmade waterway connected with the Delaware Canal to Philadelphia and Morris Canal to New York.
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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: hydropower
Hydropower — electricity generated by turbines capturing energy from moving water — was for many years the primary contributor of renewable energy to the U.S. electricity grid. Its growth was rapid into the 1970s, and since then has offered a stable supply of power, while a declining share of all generation. For many years, hydropower was seen as clean energy and an unalloyed good, but a greater understanding of the impact of dams on ecosystems and wildlife has led to the removal of some dams. As of 2019, hydropower trails wind as a renewable source of power generation.