Industrial
Uses and Hydropower
There
have been no meaningful industrial uses of the Baker Dam or
its impoundment since it was constructed in 1964. The Baker
Chocolate Company ceased its operations at Lower Mills in
1965. By contrast the impoundment created by the T&H Dam
was used by the Bay State Paper Company as a source for
industrial process water until the late 1990s. However, Bay
State Paper has closed its doors for good. Plans are in the
works for a shopping center on the site of the former paper
mill. It seems extremely unlikely that there might be any
future industrial uses associated with either of these dams.
Neither
dam is currently used for hydropower generation, though it
would be theoretically possible to retrofit one or both dams
for hydropower purposes. Generally, however, it is not
economically feasible to install hydropower generation
facilities on such small dams even with today’s high
electricity prices and with available renewable energy
subsidies.
The cost of hydropower generation at either of these dams is
even more prohibitive when one considers the substantial cost
not only of retrofitting the dams, but of operating and
maintaining these aging structures.
Finally,
implementation of hydropower facilities at either of these
locations would require issuance of a permit from the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission or “FERC.” FERC would
normally require provision of fish passage facilities as a
precondition for issuing a permit, making the prospect of
hydropower generation that much more economically infeasible.
June
2008
