Alabama Power Company’s plan to build a new series of dams on Little Canoe Creek in St, Clair, and Etowah Counties is generating a lot of questions in the local community. Alabama Power is seeking approval for its Chandler Mountain Project through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Company filed a notice of intent and Pre-Application Document with FERC on April 14, 2023.
According to Alabama Power’s website to promote the project, “The unconstructed Chandler Mountain Project would be a pumped storage hydroelectric generating facility, which is anticipated to provide 1,600 megawatts (MW) and would involve the construction of new water storage, water conveyance, and generation facilities at locations where such facilities do not exist at this time. The proposed Chandler Mountain Project would be located on Little Canoe Creek East in Etowah and St. Clair Counties near the town of Steele, Alabama.”
“The Chandler Mountain Project would include an upper dam that creates an approximate 526-acre lined upper reservoir; an upper reservoir intake structure; an underground powerhouse with four reversible pump turbines, each 400 MW; four dam sections (Lower Dam A, Lower Dam B, Lower Dam C, and Lower Dam D), including a discharge structure at Lower Dam A, that create the approximate 1,090-acre lower reservoir; an approximate 6-mile supplemental water source conveyance structure; and transmission-related structures and facilities,” the company explained.
The total dimensions of the project remain unclear at this time as it is still in the design stage.
“The Chandler Mountain Project is currently in the planning and design phase,” the Company stated. “For this reason, Alabama Power does not know final details about the size of the facility and the specific land needed for the project at this time. However, information will be provided to stakeholders as it becomes available during the FERC licensing process, which will span the next 5-10 years. The Project Area shown in the Pre-Application Document includes lands and waters that may be affected by the proposed construction and operation of the project. During the FERC licensing process, Alabama Power will evaluate the potential impacts to the Project Area that may occur during project construction and operation.”
“Pumped storage is a form of technology that utilizes two reservoirs at different elevations,” Alabama Power explained on their website. “During periods of low-energy demand, water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir and stored there until periods of high-energy demand when it is released back to the lower reservoir through a powerhouse where electricity is generated. Energy storage projects such as the Chandler Mountain Project are used across the country to help ensure a reliable and resilient electricity system that is increasingly integrating intermittent renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar.”
This proposal has been met with skepticism by the local community and some local environmentalists alike, who feel that the project could jeopardize the culture of the area as well as the flora and fauna.
Already a ‘Stop the Chandler Mountain Dam Project’ and ‘Save Chandler Mountain’ Facebook groups have started. There have been two public hearings in the Steele and Rainbow City areas to better inform the public about Alabama Power’s plans for the area.
While the Steele and Chandler Mountain areas are very rural and best known for cattle, poultry, and tomato farms, the area has been targeted for transformation into industrial development. Etowah County has purchased 1,200 acres of farmland near Steele as the County’s Little Canoe Creek Megasite and has been marketing tracts to would-be industrialists.
Alabama Power said that Pumped storage projects can take well over a decade to license, design, and construct. The FERC licensing process for the Chandler Mountain Project officially began with the filing of the Notification of Intent and Pre-Application Document on April 14, 2023.
APC says that it will take 4-5 years to prepare and file a license application. Then, Alabama Power anticipates that FERC will require an additional 2-4 years after filing the license application to reach a licensing decision. Only after license issuance, and when all other regulatory approvals are in place, can construction begin. Alabama Power anticipates 5-7 years for construction following the issuance of the FERC license, so this project will not be operational until sometime in the mid-2030s at the earliest.
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