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(Release
Date: October 12, 2011)
Red
Rock Plans Fall Pool Raise
The
Corps of Engineers is planning to raise Lake Red Rock's elevation
from 742.5 mean sea level to 744.5 mean sea level for the fall
waterfowl migration. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources
requested the lake raise, which is allowed by Corps regulation.
The raise will start on October 13; however, it is unclear how
long it will take to reach the higher elevation - it is contingent
upon precipitation and river flows. The intent of the raise is
to put water into cover and food resources for waterfowl. The
pool raise will be maintained until December 15.
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(Release
Date: August 19, 2011)
Missouri
RiverEnergy Services Announces Plans to Build Hydro Facility
SIOUX FALLS , S.D. - Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) has
announced its intent to proceed with the planning and development
of a hydroelectric generating facility at the Red Rock Reservoir
on the Des Moines River.
The Red Rock Dam is located about three miles southwest of Pella,
Iowa, and is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this year granted a license
for the Red Rock hydroelectric generating facilities to CRD Hydroelectric
LLC (CRD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nelson Energy LLC. The
project was originally conceived and initial development was started
by CRD and its parent Nelson Energy.
Last fall, Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (WMMPA) entered
into an agreement to acquire the Red Rock Hydroelectric Project
(RRHP) from Nelson Energy. The project will be constructed and
operated by MRES and financed and owned by WMMPA.
"The RRHP gives MRES another generating resource in our on-going
efforts to diversify our resource portfolio," said Tom Heller,
MRES CEO. "The long-term life of a hydro facility such as
RRHP allows MRES to spread the costs over an extended period of
time to enable us to keep our costs reasonably stable through
the addition of a base load, renewable resource. This project
also will provide significant economic benefits of nearly $250
million to the four-county region during construction from 2013
through 2015. During that three-year timeframe, our economic analysis
finds that the project will bring an average of 448 jobs to the
area ramping up to 732 jobs in 2014 and slowly decreasing until
completion in late 2015," he said.
Ray Wahle, MRES Director of Power Supply and Operations said,
"The design output of RRHP will be approximately 36 megawatts,
but the project will be capable of generating up to 55 megawatts
at certain times of the year when water is plentiful. This flexibility
will further enhance the options for MRES in meeting our member
loads in the most cost-effective and reliable manner."
MRES expects construction of RRHP to begin in 2013 with the project
becoming operational by early 2016. When operational, RRHP will
be the second largest hydropower generating facility in the State
of Iowa.
MRES is a not-for-profit joint action agency that provides long-term
power supply to 60 municipally owned electric distribution utilities
in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Pella, Iowa,
recently became a member of MRES and announced plans to retire
its steam generation facility in conjunction with purchasing power
from MRES. The steam plant uses coal as its fuel source.
Nelson Energy LLC has more than 130 megawatts of hydropower generating
facilities under various stages of development throughout the
U.S.
# # # # #
For
more information, contact MRES Director of Member and Public Relations
Bill Radio at 605-330-6952 or at bradio@mrenergy.com.
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