Jan 18 2011
The Alabama Municipal Electricity Authority (AMEA), Dothan’s Primary Power Supplier in Houston County is considering the addition of a hydroelectric plant for generation of electricity along the Chattahoochee River.
The AMEA is undertaking a study for determining the economic feasibility of constructing a hydro power plant at the George W Andrews Lock & Dam.
According to Lisa Miller, AMEA’s Marketing and Communications Manager, the plant would be expected to generate around 25 MW, but plans for such a plant are in the future. Alan Wilford, AMEA’s Manager of Planning & Engineering commented that a lot of financial and engineering analysis would need to be done during the entire 36 month study period. Preliminary estimations reveal that the plant has a potential power generating capacity of powering 6,250 homes an hour. The AMEA supplies electricity to more than 350,000 customers in 11 municipalities, of which Dothan is one. Mike West, City Manager, Dothan, revealed that AMEA provided 80-90% of the power to the Dothan residents. He also mentioned that the addition of a hydroelectric plant would be highly beneficial for the local community. Hydro power is advantageous as fuel is not involved. It would also have a positive impact on the power rates if more and more hydro power is used. He further added that green renewable power also has cost-effectiveness as a plus factor.
Source: http://www.amea.com/