Cove Hydroelectric Project

In September of 2019, RCEA signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with Snow Mountain Hydro for its Cove hydro project, an existing, seasonal, 5.6 MW run-of-the-river project in Shasta County. The facility is located on Hatchet Creek, a tributary to the Pit River located northeast of Redding in Shasta County. The project lies within the preferred northwest California area identified in RCEA’s February 2019 request for proposals (RFP) for long-term renewable energy contracts

RCEA began receiving the full power output of the project in March of 2020.  Small, low-impact hydro projects like Cove qualify as renewable energy under state standards.

This type of hydropower project does not impound the creek, there is no dam or weir to divert project water from the creek, and has minimal environmental impact.