Hydro

In an effort to meet the City of Cleveland’s “Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards,” Cleveland Public Power joined forces with American Municipal Power and other local communities to invest in hydroelectric power plants along the Great Lakes. The Standards require CPP to receive at least 15 percent of its power supply from a renewable source by 2015; twenty percent by 2020; and twenty-five percent in 2025.

With these goals in mind, CPP has invested in five hydroelectric power plants: Cannelton, Smithland, Willow Island, Meldahl, and Greenup will receive up to a combined 60 megawatts of power.

These facilities use run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation, which utilizes the energy from water flowing over existing dams and eliminates the need to alter the landscape through construction of new dams.  Instead, turbines were built either alongside or at a lower elevation never changing the landscape, just slightly altering the infrastructure.  It is advantageous for CPP to invest in hydroelectric projects with preexisting dams because that lowers the investment cost, which in turn allows CPP to keep the cost of electricity at an affordable rate for its ratepayers.

All of the hydroelectric power plants are fairly new, with Cannelton being the first to “go live” in 2014, and the others following suit in 2015.   With all plants operational, CPP stands to receive seventeen and a half percent of  its portfolio from hydroelectric power.

Cannelton

The Cannelton Project diverts water from the existing Corps Cannelton Locks and Dam through bulb turbines to generate an average gross annual output of approximately 458,000,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh). The site includes an intake approach channel, a reinforced concrete powerhouse, and a tailrace channel. CPP’s  share of the three units on this site is about 89 MW.

Smithland

The Smithland Project diverts water from the existing Corps Smithland Locks and Dam through bulb turbines to generate an average gross annual output of approximately 379,000,000 kWh. The site includes an intake approach channel, a reinforced concrete powerhouse, and a tailrace channel.  This plant has three units and CPP’s share is approximately 76 MW.

Willow Island

The Willow Island Project diverts water from the existing Corps Willow Island Locks and Dam through bulb turbines to generate an average annual output of approximately 239,000,000 kWh. The site includes an intake approach channel, a reinforced concrete powerhouse, and a tailrace channel. CPP receives appximately 44 MW from this plant.

Meldahl

This hydroelectric plant located near Maysville, Kentucky is the largest hydro plant on the Ohio River. This plant diverts water from the existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Dam  through bulb turbines anticipated to generate an average annual output of approximately 558 million kilowatt-hours (kWh). The site includes an intake approach channel, a reinforced concrete powerhouse and a tailrace channel. The powerhouse contains three horizontal bulb-type turbine and generating units with a total rated capacity of 105 MW. Cleveland Public Power receives about 9 MW of power from this plant.

Greenup

The Greenup hydroelectric plant is the oldest of the five plants CPP has an interest in and is located on the Ohio side of the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Ohio.  The site, placed into commercial operation in 1982, generates approximately 282 million kWh annually. CPP receives approximately 6 MW from this plant.