Swift River Co

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Swift River Company (SRC) develops renewable energy resources. As project manager, Swift River provides the specialized skills, experience and financing to build and operate hydro in New England. SRC brings all aspects of project development under one management. Since 1983, Swift River has managed the Sebec and Collins hydro projects. After 25 years, SRC sold Sebec in order to consolidate its operations in central Massachusetts. Three energy projects developed by SRC in early years were sold to Consolidated Hydro Incorporated (CHI) and ten other projects were sold to Swift River/Hafslund (see Prior Projects ). However, in June 2001, Swift River purchased two operating hydro projects from International Paper Company (IPC). Woronoco Hydro is located on the Westfield River in Russell, MA and Turners Falls Hydro draws its Connecticut River flow from the canal at Turners Falls, MA. For this acquisition, SRC formed Swift River Hydro Operations (SRHOCO) by merging with D. Hobbs Contracting Incorporated (DHC) to rehab these new projects and to operate and maintain all of SRC's small hydro projects. Additional capacity was then designed and installed at the Woronoco Hydro site in 2007/2008 under a renewed FERC license issued in 2002. Power from Woronoco and Turners Falls Hydro is sold as "green energy" to ISO-New England and RECs are sold to Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and to the regional REC market. In September 2001, SRHOCO acquired D. Hobbs Contracting to bring experienced design and hydro rehab skills together in order to operate and maintain a portfolio of SRC and SRHOCO projects. SRHOCO expanded to acquire two former hydro operating companies that were badly in need of rehabilitation. In May 2004, SRHOCO bought the former hydro plant at the Pepperell Paper Company on the Nashua River and formalized its ownership in the Indian River Power Supply (IRPS) project located on the Westfield River, in Russell just upstream of the Woronoco Hydro site. That project was an abandoned hydro plant that formerly powered the Westfield River Paper Company for nearly a century. The award by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) of a 10-year contract to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from Pepperell Hydro Company led to effective financing with a loan that funded complete repowering and automation of the hydro facility built in 1917. Without a REC sales contract for IRPS, the best that could be done would be to put 300 kW back on line. However, Indian River also won a 10-year contract to sell RECs, which financed expansion to 1,500 kW and full environmental permitting of IRPS as a run of river hydro facility. The merger of DHC with SRHOCO expanded Swift River's operations, maintenance and rehabilitation capabilities for managing and operating new hydro plants. William K. Fay, SRHOCO's President, is a licensed hydro engineer who has inspected 60 dams for the Massachusetts Dam Safety Division and is authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to perform Part 12 inspections of licensed hydropower facilities. He and Davis Hobbs have rebuilt many hydro turbines for plants located throughout New England.

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