Low Impact Hydro

Hydropower is energy obtained from flowing water. Hydroelectric power supplies about 19 percent of the world's electricity and an estimated 10 percent of electric generating capacity in the United States via dams and turbines. Hydropower is normally applied to peak-load demand because it is so readily stopped and started.

Thousands of hydropower dams throughout the U.S. are located on many rivers and streams. These dams can create pollution-free energy, but they can also produce adverse impacts on fish, wildlife and other resources.

Low impact hydro, a form of hydropower that minimizes negative impact on the environment, is increasingly being used as an alternative energy source. These smaller scale hydropower systems can be installed in small rivers or streams with little or no discernable environmental effect.

In Georgia, Green Power EMC uses low impact hydro produced at Tallassee Shoals Hydroelectric Project. Located on the Middle Oconee River, the 2.3 megawatt facility is owned and operated by the Fall Line Hydro Company, Inc., and licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Tallassee Shoals Project was the first hydropower facility in Georgia to earn certification from the Low Impact Hydro Institute, which was awarded in July 2004, and the 12th nationwide to earn this distinction.

In order to be certified by the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI), a hydropower facility must meet criteria in the following eight areas: river flows, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed protection, threatened and endangered species protection, cultural resource protection, recreation, and facilities recommended for removal.

How it works: Water currents turn turbines that generate electricity.

The first hydropower facility in Georgia to earn Low Impact Hydro Institute certification, the Tallassee Shoals Hydroelectric Project on the Middle Oconee River annually produces 2.3 megawatts of electricity.