FERC is gearing up for a drastic expected increase in the number of hydroelectric relicensings over the next fifteen years, during which almost half of all currently-licensed projects will enter relicensing, and the number of expiring licenses will increase from about 12 per year to an average of 34.
In preparation, FERC has issued a notice to the licensees of the approximately 100 projects set to enter the relicensing process during the two-year period between October 1, 2016, and September 30, 2018. In this newsletter, we briefly discuss each of the three licensing processes, as well as some thoughts for potential stakeholders who are in the vicinity of a project up for relicensing.