Hamilton Journal News - Hydro Project Approval Means "Lower Rates," Clean Energy On The Way

News Article

After a lengthy application and review process, the City of Hamilton has received the all-clear to break ground on a new hydroelectric plant that will create jobs and produce clean, affordable energy. The Hamilton Journal News reports:

It will make 70 percent of the city's electric consumption renewable.

It will mean even lower rates for residents and add stability to a volatile and highly competitive utility market.

And, after years of perseverance and mounds of paperwork, it all will start next month.
Ground will be broken May 1 on the $500 million hydroelectric plant at the Meldahl Lock & Dam in Bracken County, Ky., city officials announced Tuesday, April 20.

The city was actually given the nod to build and operate the half-billion-dollar facility by FERC in June 2008. The interim has been spent applying for permits, conducting studies and doing preliminary work on site. The pace picked up last month thanks to the help of Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) and U.S. Senators George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown, Young said.

[Hamilton Deputy City Manager Charles Young] said Boehner, especially, has been helpful in leading Hamilton "through the labyrinths of the federal government" for project licensing and permitting.

The Meldahl Dam project is just one example of the types of projects Congressman Boehner and House Republicans are calling for as a part of their "all of the above" energy strategy to:

* Increase domestic oil and natural gas production;
* Expand the use of alternative and renewable fuels;
* Set a goal of building 20 new nuclear plants in 20 years; and much more.

This common-sense plan stands in stark contrast to the "cap-and-trade" national energy tax House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her fellow Washington Democrats' are proposing that will raise energy costs and kill American jobs. Republicans' "all of the above" strategy not only means more jobs and lower energy prices for Ohio families, but it's also the fastest route to a cleaner, more reliable energy future.

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