Rebuffed on Coal-Fired Plans, Firm Turns to River for Power
The growing demand for renewable energy has pushed one big Ohio power provider to build five hydroelectric projects, worth $2 billion, on existing Ohio River valley dams.
American Municipal Power (AMP) Inc., Columbus, says that, when finished in five years, the projects will produce more than 350 MW of electricity, enough to serve more than 250,000 households, with minimal environmental impact. The non-profit firm secures and sells power to publicly owned utilities in six states along the river. Project supporters say it could help reduce annual carbon-dioxide emissions by 2 million metric tons.