The City of Bowling Green has announced the hydropower projects that the city participates in have been awarded federal hydroelectric incentive funds.
Together, four hydroelectric plants, located at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cannelton, Meldahl, Smithland and Willow Island locks and dams on the Ohio River, are the recipients of $8 million in Hydroelectric Production Incentive Program funds in connection with electricity generated in 2021 and 2022.
As a public power community, Bowling Green participates in all four of the hydro projects. City officials said the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognizes the importance and value that hydroelectricity plays in the electric industry.
Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by the DOE Grid Deployment Office, the program provides funding for hydroelectricity generated by qualified hydroelectric facilities placed in service since Oct. 1, 2005. The Cannelton, Meldahl, Smithland and Willow Island plants, which became operational in 2016 and 2017, are qualified facilities.
The City of Bowling Green is a long-time member of American Municipal Power Inc. (AMP), a joint action organization that provides its members with a variety of services as well as diverse and reliable power supply options to best meet needs.
The power supply mix that Bowling Green receives includes hydropower. The hydro interests include the previously mentioned run-of-the-river public power projects developed at existing federally owned dams on the Ohio River. Because the electric utility is owned and operated by the City of Bowling Green, the local government makes its own decisions about which power supply projects to participate in.
As part of its diversified power supply portfolio, city officials chose to participate in all four of the above-mentioned hydro projects because they recognized the many benefits associated with clean hydroelectric generation.
Hydropower is an important source of energy that has many positive attributes, including:
- It provides a 100% renewable resource.
- It lacks fuel risk, emissions and waste streams.
- Hydroelectric plants have long life spans — 80 to 100 years — and will continue to provide clean energy for decades.
When Bowling Green as a community decided to participate in the hydro projects, city leaders knew they were making a long-term investment in an energy resource that would be around for generations to come. The funds from the Department of Energy will help maintain and enhance these facilities to ensure that they continue to provide clean electricity long into the future.
