BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cube Hydro Carolinas LLC, an affiliate of Cube Hydro Partners, LLC, has reached an agreement to purchase and upgrade four hydroelectric power plants located on the Yadkin River in North Carolina from Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (APGI), a subsidiary of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA). The four facilities, known as High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows and Falls, total 215 megawatts (MW) and are expected to produce nearly 800,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean electricity per year.
Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, CEO of Cube Hydro Partners and former U.S. Undersecretary of Energy as well as former Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, said, “We are excited to expand our presence into North Carolina to operate and upgrade the plants on the Yadkin River. We are committed to being good stewards of these well-run hydropower plants that have a long history of generating reliable, carbon-free electricity.”
Ray Barham, APGI Yadkin Relicensing Manager said, “Alcoa has a long history in North Carolina and we are grateful for the strong relationships we’ve formed over the years. We will continue to promote economic development opportunities at the Badin Business Park and are confident that Cube Hydro will continue our century-long legacy of generating clean, renewable energy and protecting the natural resources of the region.”
“We look forward to partnering with local communities as well as state and federal regulators to preserve the natural beauty of North Carolina and increase the clean electricity generated from these plants,” said John Collins, Managing Director for Business Development of Cube Hydro Partners.
Cube Hydro acquires and modernizes hydroelectric facilities to demonstrate the value of renewable hydropower and reduce our nation’s reliance on carbon-based energy. Cube Hydro Partners currently owns and operates 14 plants in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia with a total capacity of 126 MW and 470,000 MWh annually. When the Yadkin project and other pending acquisitions close, Cube Hydro Partners will operate 19 plants on ten rivers in five stateswith a combined capacity of more than 373 MW, generating 1.4 million MWh annually, or enough electricity to power approximately 140,000 homes with renewable energy.
About Cube Hydro: Cube Hydro, led by Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, former U.S. Undersecretary of Energy, is a hydropower development and operating platform targeting investments in mid-sized hydro projects in the U.S. and Canada. John Collins spent over 22 years with Constellation Energy Group, Inc. and Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, serving as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Integration.
