WWS Wasserkraft GmbH, in collaboration with Canton Hydro LLC, celebrated the official opening of the Upper Collinsville hydropower plant after several decades without a hydro turbine.
The Upper Collinsville plant is located on the Farmington River in Canton, Conn. The dam was constructed in 1867 by the Collins Company to power its manufacturing facilities for axes, hatchets, hammers, adzes, picks, shovels, machetes, cane knives, wrenches, hoes, bush hooks, swords, knives and cast steel plows.
Originally built in 1935 as part of the Collinsville factory, the hydro plant was designed to restore the original water level of the impoundment for recreational purposes, such as kayaking. To achieve this, a 230-ft-wide and 3-ft-high automatic crest gate was installed on the main dam, along with additional crest gates on the headrace channel.
The Collins Company closed in 1966 and the upper and lower dams, as well as structures on site, were donated to the state. In 2015, Canton issued a request for proposals to redevelop the hydroelectric plant and chose Canton Hydro as the development partner.
Today, the hydropower plant boasts state-of-the-art equipment that is fully automated.
Before entering the turbine chamber, the water is cleaned by a horizontal trashrake and an automatic cleaning machine. Inside the historical brick powerhouse, a 1 MW double-regulated Kaplan turbine manufactured by WWS delivers 4.3 GWh hours of clean renewable energy to the local grid, reducing CO2 emissions by up to 3.2 metric tons every year and making a positive impact on the environment.
In addition to generating clean, renewable energy, the restoration of fish passage was a crucial concern for the community. To address this, several measures were implemented, including a Denil fish pass for upstream passage of local species such as American shad, blueback herring, alewife, Atlantic salmon, and sea lamprey. A fish downstream passage system was also installed in front of the turbine, as well as eel upstream and downstream passage to ensure passage possibilities for all species.
