This permit, which will increase the hydropower generation capacity at the Kinzua Dam, is considered a positive development in the relicensing of the Seneca pumped storage project by November 2015.
With the receipt of the permit, Seneca Nation will study the feasibility of additional hydropower capacity and priority in filing the full permit.
According to Seneca Nation, priority means that if two parties have equal applications, the party who filed first gets the license.
The Seneca hydropower project will be sited on the upstream side of the dam in the Allegany Reservoir.
The pumped storage project with a generating capacity of 450MW is now operated by FirstEnergy under a 50-year license.
FirstEnergy’s license for the power project will expire in November 2015 and the company is now a competing applicant with Seneca Nation to operate the facility.
The preliminary permit is for 36 months beginning 1 August 2011, and under the term of the permit, Seneca Nation will work with the US Army Corps of Engineers to get documents relevant to adding new generation infrastructure to its dam.
