Alcoa Starts Modernization Project for Cheoah Hydroelectric Dam

Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (Alcoa) has started off its modernization project at the Cheoah hydroelectric dam.

This project is one among the four hydroelectric dams that come under Alcoa’s Tapoco Project. This modernization drive would go on to increase the energy output as well as the efficiency levels of the dam while also increasing its life by about 40 to 50 years. The 360-MW Tapoco system is owned and managed by Alcoa.

This modernization project follows the U.S. DoE’s (Department of Energy) grant of $12.95 million under the Wind and Hydropower Technologies program. Upgrades such as this Cheoah dam go on to represent significant opportunities for making environmentally sound hydropower much more cost-effective.

The investment towards increasing the clean energy supply by bringing the hydropower systems to a futuristic level with the state-of-the-art technological upgrades would facilitate the creation of jobs, helping the environment as well as providing more renewable power for the economy.