Repaired Hydro Plant On The Pootatuck

Is Back On The Grid

By Andrew Gorosko

Besides the large hydroelectric plants at Stevenson Dam and Shepaug Dam, which draw their energy from the moving water of the Housatonic River, a smaller, lesser known hydroelectric plant is again generating power on the Pootatuck River, a Sandy Hook tributary of the Housatonic.

The turbine and generator at the 100-kilowatt Sandy Hook Hydro are again spinning, producing enough electricity for about 75 single-family homes in the area, explained Rick Fattibene, Jr, who heads Sandy Hook Hydro, LLC.

During 2007, Sandy Hook Hydro encountered some stumbling blocks that had put the facility temporarily out of service.

In April 2007, an intense nor’easter dropped heavy rain in the area, resulting in an overflowing canal leading to the power plant, which is located at the Rocky Glen Mill office building at 75 Glen Road.

The rushing silt-laden water eroded the canal’s walls and cascaded downhill, flooding the lowest level of the office building, a 19th Century structure that formerly was known as Fabric Fire Hose Company.

In December 2007, a computer malfunction caused the power plant’s electric generator to fail, requiring that it be removed, rebuilt, and reinstalled.

But with the help of his family and friends, those difficulties were surmounted and the power plant is again operating with new safety features in place to prevent such problems in the future, Mr Fattibene said.

After the flooding of April 2007, alarms were installed to warn of high water conditions and plumbing blockages at the power plant, he said. The canal’s earthen wall also was raised after the incident.

Also, new electrical safeguards were installed to prevent a generator failure, he said.

“This has been a hard year,” said Mr Fattibene, 38, of Brookfield, who is trained as a manufacturing engineer. Drought conditions also adversely affected the power plant’s operation last year, he said.

Mr Fattibene bought the power plant in 2004. He said that running the facility has become a much more time-consuming activity than he had expected.

In 2005, Mr Fattibene received approval from the Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P) to produce electricity at the power plant to be fed into the area’s power grid.

The hydroelectric facility has intermittently been in use for almost 80 years.

The profitability of the hydroelectric enterprise depends upon how much rain falls. The more it rains, the more profitable the power plant becomes. The hydroelectric plant creates only “run of river” power, or power produced by the instantaneous flow of the river.

A dam on the river just upstream of Rocky Glen Mill creates a pond, whose water is diverted into a canal that leads to a five-foot-diameter penstock. Water flowing through the penstock rotates turbine blades, which then spin a shaft leading to the generator, creating electric power.

The water is then discharged within a tall masonry structure, through which it flows before reentering the Pootatuck River. The building formerly housed a 50-foot-diameter wooden water wheel.

Mr Fattibene said that new equipment to be installed at the power plant will soon allow it to directly provide electricity for Rocky Glen Mill. Currently, the office building draws its electricity from the power grid.

The installation of new and rebuilt equipment at Sandy Hook Hydro will allow it to be profitable in the future, Mr Fattibene said.

“Things are moving along. We got it all sorted out. We’ve got [safety systems] in place,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about hydro plants,” he added.