Redevelopment of an Abandoned Small Hydro Project

There were innumerable small hydroelectric power plants constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century. Many have since been abandoned, with the advent of large central‐station power plants. Craggy Dam on the French Broad River in North Carolina, built in 1904, is one of these abandoned plants. The owner of the property commissioned an engineer to evaluate the site for possible redevelopment for hydroelectric power purposes. This paper describes the planning, feasibility, licensing, construction, and operation, with the associated problems that were encountered during project development. The powerhouse, with induction generators, exceeds its rating and is connected by a one‐half‐mile concrete‐pole power line to the owners' wastewater treatment plant, where project power is utilized. Surplus power, about one third of the project's total output, is sold to the local electric utility.