About the Hydro Power Energy Group

The Berger Energy Services Group is a diverse group of engineers, scientists, planners, and economists with experience and expertise in hydropower and water resources. Our group works on hydropower and water resources projects worldwide. The group's main focus is on hydro re-licensing, hydro engineering services, recreation, land use, cultural studies, and environmental studies.

• Hydropower Re-licensing  
• License Revisions
• Private Sector Hydropower Relicensing Activities
• License Compliance
• Recreation Planning
• Evaluation of Hydropower Projects
• Headwater Benefits
• Land Management
• Recent Success Stories

Hydropower Re-licensing  

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) uses Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) to assess the full effects of re-licensing a hydroelectric project on the resources of the affected environment surrounding it. FERC must determine if a proposed project will contribute to the improvement or development of waterways and provide opportunities for beneficial public use. The Berger Energy Services Group has been the prime contractor to FERC for the past 4-1/2 years providing environmental and engineering support services for the processing of hydropower re-licensing applications. For example, Berger Energy Services Group staff helped FERC prepare an EA for the Pit 1 Project in Shasta County, California. The staff provided an analysis of the economic and engineering aspects of the project; detailed reviews of enhancement measures; estimates of potential power benefits; assessments of the environmental impacts of each development option; and the costs of alternative mitigation enhancement measures.  

License Revisions  

After FERC issues a license or exemption, licensees often amend their plant and equipment or operations, surrender their license, or use project lands and waters for "non-project related" activities. Each of these requests requires further technical, environmental, and engineering analysis. Berger has expertise and experience with all of these aspects. For a project on Kinderhook Creek in New York, an application had been made to surrender a license for a project that had not been in operation since 1993 because of excessive penstock leakage. Berger prepared an EA that analyzed four options: resuming operations; closing the powerhouse; removing the dam; and removing the dam, intake structure, penstock, powerhouse and other facilities. This analysis helped the licensee evaluate options for future use of the project. For the Safe Harbor Hydroelectric Project on the Susquehanna River near historic Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Berger prepared an EA to address the environmental issues in Safe Harbor's request to amend its license to allow an increase in its forebay water level elevation. On other assignments, the Berger Team has assessed the environmental effects of non-project related marina developments on FERC-licensed reservoirs, including four proposed marina developments on the Catawba-Wateree system in North and South Carolina and a proposed marina development at the Sinclair Project in Georgia.

Private Sector Hydropower Relicensing Activities

In addition to assisting FERC with the review of license applications, Berger's Energy Services Group is involved in the preparation of license and re-license applications for utility companies. Given Berger's extensive work for FERC, a thorough Conflict of Interest review is completed prior to accepting private consultancies to avoid any conflict between Berger's private sector client services and FERC assignments. The Fifteen Mile Falls Hydroelectric Project on the upper Connecticut River, with an installed capacity of 369 megawatts, is New England's largest conventional hydropower resource. The Berger Group conducted environmental, recreation, land use, and cultural studies and prepared the Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) for the New England Power Company in support of its re-licensing efforts for the Fifteen Mile Falls Project.  

License Compliance  

In addition to re-licensing hydropower projects, Berger's work involves reviewing projects for compliance with their original license. The El Dorado Project in California consists of four mountain lakes, a diversion dam, 22.5 miles of canal, the forebay reservoir and a 21-megawatt powerhouse. Berger engineers and scientists reviewed and developed repair options for the El Dorado Canal, which was damaged during floods.  

Recreation Planning  

Recreational planning reports are a critical component of FERC licensing. For example, to relicense a project, the applicant must show that there is sufficient access to recreation opportunities in the project area. The study area typically includes the waters impounded by the dam, the waters immediately downstream of the dam, and the land bordering these waters. The Berger Group has inventoried hundreds of recreational facilities for utility companies across the United States and prepared recreational resource reports, surveying facilities in a project area as well as assessing current and anticipated demand and adequacy of facilities. The Berger Energy Services Group prepared recreation, land use, and socioeconomic reports for American Electric Power's (AEP) Smith Mountain Pumped Storage Project located just below the confluence of the Blackwater and Roanoke Rivers in Virginia. The Smith Mountain Project consists of two dams, Leesville and Smith Mountain. Berger's analysis included an assessment of recreational use and carrying capacity, an evaluation of land use, and an evaluation of economic impacts of the hydropower project.  

Evaluation of Hydropower Projects  

The Berger Energy Group conducts feasibility, analysis and evaluation studies for the power industry as well as agencies and concerned community and citizen groups. The 700-kilowatt Shawano Hydroelectric Project is one of two hydropower stations located on the Wolf River in northeastern Wisconsin's Shawano and Menominee Counties. The Bureau of Indian Affairs retained the Berger Group to help ensure the protection of the Menominee Indian Reservation Trust resources, which included evaluations of major concerns about potential impact on sturgeon.  

Headwater Benefits  

Headwater benefits studies require Berger's Energy Group experts to acquire, review, and interpret daily flow, generation, and storage data for each project site studied. In addition, Berger staff analyzes anticipated annual energy gains from each storage project and the fees each project should pay to FERC. The Osage River Basin contains five federally owned storage reservoirs, one federally owned hydroelectric project, and a privately owned hydroelectric project. The projects are located in a series downstream from the storage reservoirs making it necessary to model the reservoir operations of each hydroelectric project separately. Berger energy experts conduct a daily simulation of the river basin using the Headwater Benefits Energy Gains (HWBEG) model to determine the energy gains from the regulated flows for the privately owned hydroelectric project. In similar assignments for FERC, Berger is completing HWBEG studies for the Upper Mississippi, Lower Arkansas, Merrimack, Savannah, Ohio, and Allegheny River Basins, and developing screening reports to determine potential energy gains for the Tennessee and Trinity-San Jacinto River Basins, and the Florida Peninsula.  

Land Management  

The Berger Energy Group assists landowners and leaseholders in creating strategies to optimize the potential of their land under FERC jurisdiction. For example, the Berger Energy Group reviewed Duke's current land management practices , prepared a site-specific Geographic Information System (GIS)-based inventory and management system, and presented a number of development options for Duke-owned recreation areas.  

Recent Success Stories  

Berger assisted Carolina Power & Light, Inc. (CP&L) Lake Tillery and Carolina Power & Light, Inc. (CP&L) Lake Duke Power with their FERC relicensing efforts by developing Shoreline Management Plans (SMP) for the Lake Tillery Project and Catawba-Wateree Project. For Lake Tillery, the Berger Team identified CP&L's needs, goals, and objectives; reviewed shoreline management planning trends; and identified and assessed stakeholder issues and potential resources and constraints. Further, the Berger analyzed existing data, including maps, aerial photos, digital land use and lease-holder information, and conducted site visits to develop current land use classifications for the project shoreline.

For the Catawba-Wateree Project, Berger supported Duke Power in developing individual lake assessments, including recreation use and boat carrying capacity, and proposed recreation enhancements based on the "Recreation Use and Needs Study" Berger staff conducted in 1999. Berger assisted both CP&L and Duke Power in developing strategies for protecting historic property. Cultural resources for both projects were identified for CP&L and Duke Power using data on file at the North Carolina and South Carolina State Historic Preservation Offices to determine whether proposed construction would affect these known sites.

Finally, the Berger Energy Group helped develop measures for monitoring and enforcement of the SMP and provisions for advising landowners on how the SMP affects their use of the shoreline. For the Catawba-Wateree Project, Berger supported Duke Power in developing individual lake assessments, including recreation use and boat carrying capacity, and proposed recreation enhancements based on the "Recreation Use and Needs Study" Berger staff conducted in 1999. Berger assisted both CP&L and Duke Power in developing strategies for protecting historic property.

Cultural resources for both projects were identified for CP&L and Duke Power using data on file at the North Carolina and South Carolina State Historic Preservation Offices to determine whether proposed construction would affect these known sites. Finally, the Berger Energy Group helped develop measures for monitoring and enforcement of the SMP and provisions for advising landowners on how the SMP affects their use of the shoreline.