Ohio Power Eyes New Hydro Dam: Comments Due September
Published Date: 7/9/2025
Notice
Summary
Ohio Power and Light wants to build a new hydroelectric project at the Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam on the Ohio River. This could affect local communities and the environment, and the project will use about 16 acres of federal land. People have until September 1, 2025, to share their thoughts or ask to get involved before any decisions are made.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Project expected to generate 165,169 MWh/year
The application states the RC Byrd Project is projected to generate about 165,169 megawatt-hours of electricity annually and would operate in a run-of-release mode that approximates Corps outflow. The project would connect to the grid at the Apple Grove Substation via a 2.5-mile, 69-kilovolt line.
You can formally weigh in by Sept 1, 2025
FERC says anyone who wants to protest or seek to intervene in the Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam Hydroelectric Project must file a motion or protest by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 1, 2025. The notice also sets an initial scoping schedule with a scoping document in August 2025, a scoping meeting and environmental site review in September 2025, and comments on the scoping document due in October 2025.
Project will use 16 acres of Corps land
The proposed Robert C. Byrd hydroelectric project would occupy about 16 acres of federal land managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam in Mason County, West Virginia. The project would build two powerhouses, intake and tailrace channels, an underground conduit to a substation, and a 2.5-mile, 69-kilovolt aboveground transmission line to Apple Grove Substation.
FERC offers help for local participants
FERC's Office of Public Participation (OPP) can help members of the public—including landowners, community organizations, and Tribal members—access information and navigate filing processes for this proceeding. OPP provides contact help so people can make filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing.
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