Group to repower Williams dam

For the first time in 60 years, hydroelectric power will be generated at Williams Dam on the White River near Bedford, Ind.

Free Flow Power  announced Friday that it was close to receiving the necessary license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to repower the Williams Dam. 

The company plans to invest $12 million dollars to create a 4-megawatt power facility.  Free Flow is currently in discussions with potential customers for long-term purchase contracts.

“As fossil fuels face greater regulatory burdens, we are compelled to tap into renewable, green energy sources that are as old as Earth itself”, said Robert Crear, chairman of FFP Development, in a press release. “Hydro-electric power produces no emissions, respects wildlife and does not interfere with the current route of the river.”

Tristan Vance, director of the Indiana Office of Energy Development, said in the release hydroelectric power is a small but important part of any state’s long-term energy policy.
 
“We need a diverse energy portfolio, which includes coal, gas, methane, wind, solar, nuclear and hydroelectric, in order to power our economy,” Vance said.

Williams Dam is owned by the Department of Natural Resources and was originally constructed as a hydro-electric dam in 1910. 

The dam was de-commissioned as a power producer in the 1950s.

The project is expected to generate 25 construction jobs and two permanent highly-skilled jobs.  No local or state economic development funds are set aside for the project.

Free Flow expects the final FERC license to be granted in the first quarter of 2014. Power will begin being generated in mid-2016.

— Brianna Meyer