This Land, Your Land

By the middle of next year, Jordan Lake should be a source of renewable energy via hydroelectric power generators being installed at the dam near Moncure.

The Corps of Engineers, which administers the B. Everett Jordan Dam and Reservoir, said today the road across the dam would close this week as construction began. The Corps operates a visitor center and picnic area at the dam and allows bank fishing below the spillway.

Installation of two vertical generators on the upstream side of the dam's water intake tower should take up to eight months, the Corps said. Each of the generators contains a 2.2-megawatt turbine.

A private enterprise, the Jordan Hydroelectric Limited Partnership, is installing the generators.

When complete, the project will generate up to 16,900 megawatt hours of green power annually, enough to power more than 1,500 homes.

In 2007, the state legislature required power companies to derive at least 12.5 percent of their energy from a combination of renewable sources and from energy-saving programs by 2021, according to a News & Observer article from 2009 about a hydroelectric firm previously expected to build at Jordan Lake.

Progress Energy, which gets less than 1 percent of its power from renewable energy sources, would buy the power produced at Jordan Lake.

This is the first of several such projects proposed or in process for Wilmington District Corps of Engineers facilities, which include W. Kerr Scott Lake in Wilkes County, Falls Lake in Wake County, and three Locks and Dams on the Cape Fear River, all of which also offer public recreation sites.

Repairs and renovations to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District's Lock and Dam #1 on the Cape Fear River will require the area's boat launch and picnic area to close tomorrow until the project is completed, the Corps says.

The first part of the project, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will repair a 40-foot-deep scour hole from almost 100 years of water pouring over the low-head dam.

The Corps will host a visitor day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 10 to show off the project, which will be visible from the overlook at the old lockmaster's house.

Boaters traveling up or down the river can still get through the locks by booking at least 48 hours in advance. To book a lockage, call Lockmaster Phil Edge at 910-483-7746 or Ranger Tom Charles at 910-874-0883. Canoe portage may be available – call well in advance to inquire.

An alternative boat launch is available at Elwell's Ferry, operated by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, about six miles upstream of Lock and Dam #1 on Route 87.