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Show Consideration of the future supply of this region should also have regard for coordination with Ni- agara and St. Lawrence power and with other sources of power supply in the State of New York. In general, it is likely that the greatest economies and the lowest electricity rates are likely to be achieved if future Connecticut Basin hydroelectric facilities are in part integrated with base load hy- droelectric plants outside the basin, and in part with steam plants in the New England region. 4. Possible Coordination of Potential Power from the Connecticut and Other New England Rivers with the St. Lawrence International Rapids Project The Problem The best use of the potential hydroelectric power in the Connecticut River Basin in conjunction with the St. Lawrence power. The Situation The estimates of undeveloped water power on the rivers In New England are 3,249,000 kilowatts and in New York State 2,982,000 kilowatts.11 Part of this potential would be in redevelopment and part in additional capacity at existing power plants. The potential could be developed in connection with multiple-purpose reservoir projects and would be suited for coordinated operation with the pro- posed International Rapids Project on the St. Law- rence Rivex. A preliminary reconnaissance of the possibilities of combining St. Lawrence power with power de- velopments in certain New York and New England streams has been made. The combination of projects cbiosen might be considered as an initial plan to supply, in the next 20 years, the power market area including northern New York State and the States of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. T*3iis combination of projects could also be interconnected with systems serving southern New York ;and the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and. Connecticut. With the cooperation of such systems this would assure the entire region of advantages of sound coordination. Such an initial plan would assure lower cost power with_in the market area. In this plan, the power capa^cities have been assumed as component 11 Includes St. Lawrence and Niagara. parts of an integrated system having an annual load factor of 55 percent in combination with the St. Lawrence International Rapids Project. Many of the projects have not been investigated in sufficient detail to determine their separate or combined economic feasibility, although prelimi- nary estimates by various State, private utility, or Federal agencies have shown that they merit care- ful investigation. The following tabulation lists those projects in northeastern New York and New England included in the study. The data are assumed for study purposes. River basin Number of dams Estimated average annual energy Estimated continuousi power during 1930 Estimated initial installed capacity St. Croix.......______ Penobseot......_____ Kennebec..........___ Androscoggin......... Merrimack.....____ Connecticut_________ Winooski-Lamoille___ 1 12 4 5 6 10 3 Million kilowatu hours 40 941 1,030 505 307 921 80 Kilowatts 4,000 86,000 101,000 55,000 31,000 90,000 7,000 Kilowatts 10,000 195,000 260,000 107,000 128,000 318,000 25,000 New England Region_______ Eastern New York Region*. 41 11 3,824 505 374,000 40,000 1,043,000 123,000 Total projects considered..... 52 4,269 * 414,000 1,166,000 i Lowest power throughout critical dry period or year. * Ausable, Saranac, Black, and Hudson Rivers. * Continuous power during 1934 was 475,000 kilowatts. Source: Federal Power Commission. The possibilities include about 40 percent of the undeveloped water power in northeastern New York and northern New England, excluding the St. Lawrence and Passamaquoddy. These projects would by themselves have insufficient energy to provide an independent power supply and, there- fore, must be coordinated with large base-load plants, such as the St. Lawrence, to supply a sys- tem load. The combined power availability from the In- ternational Rapids Project in coordination with these potentialities at 55 percent system load factor is given in the following summary of the capacity of potential hydroelectric plants in the St. Law- rence and rivers of northern New England and eastern New York. 504 |