COLUMBUS — Though most local readers are familiar with American Municipal Power’s proposed power plant in Meigs County, the company is developing a series of run-of-the-river hydroelectric projects, which will include a site on the Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam.

In relation to the Byrd Locks and Dam site, south of Gallipolis and Point Pleasant, W.Va., AMP is currently pursuing a development license which if approved will be followed by a permitting process with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to AMP Communications Director Kent Carson.

Carson described the process as “slow moving” and had no time frame as to when work might begin if the licensing and permitting process is approved. Carson also said AMP has also not made a decision as to which side of the Ohio River the project site will sit on.

The project at the Byrd Locks and Dam is one of five run-of-the-river projects AMP is undertaking, the largest undertaking of these types of hydroelectric projects in the United States.

The five project sites will produce an estimated 270 megawatts of electricity. This is in comparison to AMP’s proposed American Municipal Power Generation Station, a coal-fired power plant, which will have a capacity of 1,000 MW.

The first project to get underway will be at Cannelton Dam on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River near Cannelton, Ind. A groundbreaking for the Cannelton Hydroelectric Project will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, near Hawesville, Ky. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is expected to attend and speak at the ceremony.

In addition to Cannelton, a complete list of other sites is as follows: Capt. Meldahl Locks and Dam near Cincinnati (being developed in partnership with the City of Hamilton); Byrd Locks and Dam near Gallipolis, AMP and the City of Wadsworth are partnering to pursue licensure from the FERC; Smithland Locks and Dam in Livingston County, Ky.; and Willow Island Locks and Dam near Waverly, W.Va.

AMP has given Kiewit/Traylor Constructors final notice-to-proceed on cofferdam construction and powerhouse excavation for the Cannelton hydroelectric facility. The Cannelton facility has a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license capacity of 84 megawatts. The Cannelton project, which has a projected capital cost of $408 million, will employ 200 to 400 construction workers and seven-nine permanent operating positions.

AMP is also pursuing another similar, potential project at the Bluestone Dam on the New River in West Virginia.