How do I get started in VT ??????

[Mike in VT]

Four years ago I purchased a property in VT.

Since then we have been building a house on the property (lived in an RV for the first three years).

With the house almost finished, I have started on the workshop.

On one side of the property runs a river. My property line runs down the center of the river.

On this river is the last of 7 dams build many years ago ... I own half this dam.

I grew up near Niagara Falls ... hydro power was all around me.

Since seeing my dam, I have dreamed about putting in a small hydro turbine.

I am a machinist by trade and have no problems with the actual hardware.

My problem lies with the law .... we have "water/wetland" fanatics in VT (a few who have suggested blowing up my dam).

So where do I begin????

I have read that the federal government controls all power installations ... even pico ones under 5 kW.

I have been told that in Vermont there is a law called "act 250" that forbids the use of water for any reason.

Then I was told that there are "exemptions".

I was also told I could get permits ... though they may cost $10K

So what is the truth?

Where can I find out if it is possible in VT to install a power plant?

Below are two pictures of the fall ... spring and summer. The pipe in the one picture (left side) goes to an old saw mill. The mill was turned into a house and the pipe plugged many years ago.

Thanks ..... Mike

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[Alton Root]

First, the sight of your home is simply awesome.

I don't have much knowledge about Government's regulations for non commercial hydro power plant but I think you don't require to go through the whole process that is followed by industry. You can project this entire plan as an energy innovative project. May you will get Government's support and also from local authorities.

Will your turbine work in summer (As I seen less amount of water in second picture)?

[Mike in VT]

I have lived here for 4 years now. I have had the extreme of a 100 year flood and a 100 year low rain fall.

The highest mountain in VT is clearly in site from my yard. In the spring and for part of the summer, we get run off from this. Last week the summit still had a base of over 8 ft of snow.

Even during the "drought" last year, some water came over the dam. In a "normal" year, we do get water flowing over all the time. During a dry year, there may be a month or two with flow that would be too small to use.

During our "flood", you could not see where the dam started and stopped. The edges were covered completely by water. Lucky for me the area is largely ledge so I built up rather than build a basement. My house is also about 20 ft above the water level so we stayed dry.

Even at this, I am looking in the long run for a complete energy solution.

Vermont is very strict, we don't even allow billboards or cell towers.

I have a posting in the wind area. I am hoping I can build some kind of wind turbine that I can camouflage as a large cupola on my workshop.

Maybe with a few solar cells supplementing the system, I can get year round power.

I would never totally pull off the grid but it would be great to see how close I could come.

I was not a fanatic but I did build the house as efficient as I could afford to.

The floor has 4" of foam under it. The walls are 2 x 6. I used spray foam around the band, there is 24" of insulation in the ceilings and almost all the lighting is LED.

For several reasons the house turned out a lot larger than I intended. With the "basement" now the first level and all the normal living area on the second floor, I have 4800 sq ft above ground. In the coldest winter month last year (and we do get nights that hit -30) and the wife keeping the temperature at 73, my most expensive heating bill was $250.

Anyway, I just want to make sure I don't break any of the rules before I start. Vermonters are a funny type. Most don't seem to care what you do but there are a few fanatics who claim to be "environmentalists". When I started asking around about installing a small turbine, the jumped all over me claiming this "act 250" and saying I could not use the water for anything. They even say it would need to go through the States "clean water act".

Kind off odd to me since the water is going over the falls anyway. I am not changing anything. I would not change the water level, just redirect the overflow. You would think this is the most clean form of energy there is!

I just want to make sure I am on the right side of the law before I start.

Thanks .... Mike

[Rob Beckers]

Mike, awesome site for some micro-hydro! Even a small hydro turbine that produces a few hundred Watt will add up because it runs 24x7.

I don't think you'll find the answers about legal matters through this forum (unless by cheer coincidence a fellow VT'er with hydro experience shows up). You'll have to dig locally for that. Water rights are funny things. Here in Ontario they are separate from land rights (ie. owning a piece of property doesn't give you any rights to the streams or rivers running through).

Great place though!

-RoB-

[Mike in VT]

Exactly my thoughts. Running 24/7 I should need only a small generator to get good results.

I don't mind "hiding" the equipment for the sake of aesthetics. I figure if I bury the inlet and discharge, I could build a small pit to put the turbine in. I could put the generator in there also but just because of the flooding, it would be nice to have a small "dog house" above ground to put it in.

I grew up just outside Niagara Falls in Ontario. Here in VT we have the same problems. You really can't own water here.

On top of this, a number of years ago VT passed this "act 250" law. It gave the State tremendous powers. It covers everything from water use to gravel pits, wet lands ......

I am not a fanatic but much more of a practical environmentalist. I use my recycle box. I don't dumb my old oil on the ground and I stayed 100 ft away from my wetlands when building.

On the other hand, the idea that just using some of the water from a dam that already exists to make clean power is ridiculous.

Anyway .... guess I will have to do a bit more searching.

I have attached a couple more pictures of the site and house.

Thanks ..... Mike

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