Homer Electric Association, through its subsidiary Kenai Hydro LLC, continues to study the feasibility of a five-megawatt Grant Lake Hydroelectric Project near Moose Pass on the Kenai Peninsula. There was interest in such a project in the 1980s, but Kenai Hydro has been evaluating the feasibility of a hydroelectric project on the Kenai Peninsula since 2008.
Originally, there were four sites under consideration: Grant Lake, Falls Creek, Crescent Lake, and Ptarmigan Lake. After a thorough review, Kenai Hydro determined that Crescent Lake, Ptarmigan Lake and Falls Creek were not economically feasible and the preliminary permits for those projects were surrendered.
In October 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued the Grant Lake Hydroelectric Project a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and held a series of meetings in Moose Pass in November 2018.
A major milestone was made in August 2019, when FERC issued an order granting Kenai Hydro/HEA an original license for the Grant Lake Hydroelectric Project.
With the extension of time request approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), HEA has earmarked the start of construction for August 2023 with an estimated completion in August 2026.
The five-megawatt project will be located on Grant Lake and Grant Creek, near the community of Moose Pass. The project will generate about 18,600 megawatt hours of energy annually. The Grant Lake Project will divert water from Grant Lake and deliver the flow to a powerhouse located near the outlet of the existing Grant Creek natural, incised rock canyon.
For more details on the Grant Lake Hydroelectric project, Visit the Kenai Hydro website.