The facilities, located at the Ball Mountain and Townshend dams, will total approximately 3.1MW. They have long-term power purchase agreements through the Vermont Sustainably Priced Energy Development (SPEED) program and will support Vermont's goal of providing 20% of electricity from new renewable resources by 2017.
"The acquisition of Blue Heron is an important step in our effort to build a company that both acquires and optimizes existing hydroelectric facilities and constructs new facilities in a manner that is safe, responsible, and respectful of the environment and the many stakeholders of our water resources," said Bud Cherry, Eagle Creek's CEO. "This acquisition continues the growth and value creation underway at Eagle Creek while broadening the scope of our efforts to include the construction of new generating facilities from late stage development opportunities."
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued new 50-year operating licenses to the two Blue Heron projects earlier this year. Construction of the turbine and generator equipment for the projects has begun at Obermeyer Hydro Inc.'s facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. On-site construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013, with the projects in service in the third quarter of 2013.
