The Low Impact Hydropower Institute’s governing board announced certification of five hydropower facilities in September as meeting its low-impact certification criteria.
LIHI is a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the environmental impacts of hydropower generation through the certification of hydropower projects that have avoided or reduced their environmental impacts pursuant to the institute’s criteria. The voluntary LIHI program is designed to help consumers identify environmentally sound, low-impact hydropower facilities. Certification under the program means the owner can market the project as a certified low-impact facility.
Facilities most recently receiving certification are:
* The 4.5-MW Red Bridge project on the Chicopee River in Massachusetts, owned by Essential Power LLC. Its certification was effective March 27, 2012, and expires in five years.
* The 700-kW Passumpsic, 350-kW Arnold Falls, and 250-kW Pierce Mills facilities on the Passumpsic River and the 2.2-MW Silver Lake Plant on Sucker Brook in Vermont, owned by Green Mountain Power Corp. Their certification was effective February 6, 2012, and expires in five years.
