Advanced 'By God' Hydro Solutions

Advanced Hydro Solutions may have finally given up on the hydroelectric project (farce) at the Ohio Edison dam and moved south.  After trying in earnest to get access to the Gorge Metro Park to set up a trial hydroelectric project Advanced Hydro has announced plans to give the rivers of West Virginia a try.  I'm hoping this means they have given up on the Akron project.

The company had tried unsuccessfully to start a hydroelectric project using the First Energy owned Ohio Edison dam as a location.  A stalwart grass roots movement of citizens, park lovers, paddlers and the Summit Metro Parks were able to turn the tide (or turbine) against the company and their silent partner.  It seems most of us believed protecting the park and preventing First Energy from avoiding their dam liability was a worthy cause.  In the end it paid off.  FERC has given up on the proposed project and a court ruling has kept Advanced Hydro out of the park so that colony of monks hood plants can breath easier now.  The ultimate goal is of course getting First Energy to take on the responsibility of removing the 20th century relic.  Doing so would improve the Cuyahoga's health and free up a decent stretch of white water in the process.  Maybe Advanced will have better luck in our neighboring state, there are less people there.

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FERC Denies Hydroelectric Farce

Sunday's ABJ reports that Metro Hydroelectric had its request for a permit denied by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This is just another legal slap down that Metro Hydroelectric has experienced in its questionable pursuit of hydro power in the Gorge. I guess FirstEnergy thought that using a "green energy" project as a front would protect them from the future liability associated with removing the dam.

This is not just good news for the Gorge Metropark's monkshood colony but bad news for the ol' Edison dam. There's a legion of grassroots stakeholders (and paddlers) who are hoping to bring down the industrial age relic and uncover a forgotten paradise. The river will thank us for it when we are done.