The gears and machinery that operate the hydroelectric power plant in Manchester were captured in numerous photos by tour goers. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

MANCHESTER – The sight of water slipping over a concrete dam 710 feet wide that spans the Merrimack River at the Amoskeag Hydroelectric Station in Manchester and a guided tour of the plant’s interior with its trio of huge turbines entertained the curious who participated on May 8 in a local event hosted during NH Energy Week, May 4-8, by NHSaves and affiliates.

The NH Energy Week event was titled, “Currents of Change: Hydro and Community Power at Amoskeag.” Its primary sponsor was NHSaves, a coalition of major utility company partners focused on the goal of reducing energy costs for citizens and businesses in New Hampshire.

Co-sponsoring the NH Energy Week activities in Manchester were other pacesetters of energy conservation — Patriot Hydro, based in Manchester, and Freedom Energy Logistics, headquartered in Auburn.

Freedom Energy Logistics (FEL) provides to industries and communities nationwide an array of individually designed energy management programs and specific solutions for sustaining energy resources.

Meanwhile, Patriot Hydro’s Skip Medford, who led the tour, said the event in Manchester was a great success, offering attendees a fresh insight into the Merrimack River, seasonal fish passage via a fish ladder and the production of renewable energy locally, which has occurred in New Hampshire and at the Amoskeag Hydro Project for more than a century.

Three vintage turbines and their generators continue working with precision at Amoskeag Hydroelectric Station, a power plant that began operating in 1922. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Patriot Hydro owns and operates 39 hydroelectric plants nationwide, nine of which are in New Hampshire. The Amoskeag plant is the largest hydro plant in Patriot’s portfolio for New Hampshire.

Tour attendees included recent FEL clients Salem, Merrimack, Windham and Londonderry, and guests from other towns who pay for electricity as a way of securing an alternative energy supplier anticipated to save them money through the company’s Community Choice Aggregation program.

“We’re pleased to be a part of NH Energy Week and cap it off with such a wonderful event,” said Bart Fromuth, CEO of FEL. “The Community Choice Aggregation program is an integral tool for communities seeking to meet their sustainability goals while saving their residents money.”

Bart Fromuth, Nick Shostak, team member, and Peyton Rivers, an operations analyst, joined an avid audience in exploring the nitty gritties of electricity production. The process stems from the sometimes turbulent river flow being controlled and harnessed for conduction through the plant’s three massive turbines and their generators.

A part of the station’s structure that during the tour drew some gasps of surprise was a wide expanse of vertical iron slats stretching horizontally the length of the brick building. It’s a “trash rack” for snagging floating undesirables. A yellow rubber duck, toys, baseballs and a pink Easter egg were displayed as retrieved trash.

Citizens gather to tour Manchester's historic Amoskeag Hydroelectric Station, a facility that since 1922 has generated electric power through the force of flowing water. Courtesy photo by BETH SAN SOUCIE, CLEAN ENERGY NH

Beth San Soucie, deputy director of Clean Energy NH, based in Concord, was on hand and commended organizing partners of NH Energy Week. Supporters included Clean Energy NH; Community Development Finance Authority; Community Power Coalition of NH; NH Businesses for Social Responsibility; Ski NH and the Young Professionals in Energy.

Energy Week provides communities, municipalities, and businesses a valuable chance to explore and learn about different energy sources. After the hydro tour, guests gathered for lunch under a tent, where Freedom Energy team members shared information about Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), net metering in New Hampshire, and strategies for managing volatile energy costs. The discussion provided a practical close to the week’s educational programming.

More information on NH Energy Week is available online at nhenergyfuture.org.

Tour visitor Tom Walton, a resident of Melrose, Mass., pauses to admire the machinery controlling the 710-foot dam at the Manchester hydroelectric plant. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Freedom Energy Logistics CEO Bart Fromuth, left, and Nick Shostak, FEL team member, commend the educational aspects of the recent tour hosted at Amoskeag Hydroelectric Station. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

River debris that floated to entrapment against an iron trash rack at the plant includes baseballs, toys, soccer balls, a yellow rubber duck and a hollow plastic Easter Egg. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Hard hats and safety glasses were provided at the guided tour of the Amoskeag Hydroelectric Station in Manchester. Courtesy Photo