Cube Hydro Carolinas 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.

 

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 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 build on 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 Partners 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 states with 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.