Rep. Callahan Tours FirstLight's Rocky River Pumped Hydro Storage Station
Key Takeaways
- Rep. Callahan tours FirstLight's Rocky River pumped hydro storage station.
- Officials highlight energy storage's role in grid reliability and peak demand relief.
- Tour underscores support for infrastructure investment and local energy jobs.
- Callahan calls for pragmatic policies to expand pumped storage and ensure affordable power.
The yearly Candlewood Lake drawdown is planned and executed through a collaboration between FirstLight, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Candlewood Lake Authority. A shallow drawdown was planned this winter, FirstLight in order to provide additional generation to the power grid during this stretch of cold weather, moved from a scheduled shallow to a deep drawdown to support New England’s energy needs.
"I had a chance to meet with employees of FirstLight to talk about this change in plan in response to a January 25 federal Department of Energy emergency order, an energy need and DOE request like this hasn’t happened since 2003. ISO New England was asked to operate all generators up to their maximum generation output levels in order to keep up with the sustained high electricity demand," said Rep. Patrick Callahan (R-New Fairfield).
Callahan toured the 29-megawatt, Rocky River Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Station, which is the first pumped hydro facility ever constructed in the U.S. and remains the largest source of energy storage in Connecticut.
Construction began to create Rocky River and Candlewood Lake in 1926, and the facility was put into operation in 1929.
"It's amazing that 100 years later, this tourist destination and natural resource continues to support grid reliability through its storage and generating capabilities," noted Rep. Callahan.
The plant consists of one generator and two pumps. It generates enough energy to power about 30,000 homes.
Water is pumped from the lower reservoir (Housatonic River) seasonally to Candlewood. During periods of high electric demand, the water is released from the upper reservoir (Candlewood) and flows back down through the turbines to generate electricity, not only at the Rocky River Plant, but also two more times at the Shepaug and Stevenson Dams as well.
Rep. Callahan thanked VP of External Affairs Len Greene, Senior Land Manager Brian Wood, Operations Supervisor Shawn Moody, and Director of Corporate Communications Claire Belanger for arranging the visit and leading the tour of the penstock and powerhouse.