DALTON AND NORWOOD MA…ISSUED JULY 11, 2008… GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., one of the area’s leading environmental and geotechnical consulting firms, recently assisted Crane & Company with a feasibility study and grant application with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Renewable Energy Trust that will allow them to  rehabilitate a small hydropower system at their Dalton manufacturing facility.

Crane & Company retained GZA GeoEnvironmental to investigate the feasibility of hydroelectric power generation at two of their existing dams. GZA will now work with them to design and construct a rehabilitated small hydropower generation facility at the Byron Weston Defiance Mill and the associated Byron Weston Dam No. 2. The proposed renewable energy project involves the replacement of the existing turbines with a new turbine, the installation of new electrical generation and control equipment and modification of ancillary civil structures.

Crane & Co. has been a manufacturer of fine paper since 1801 and is best-known for manufacturing stationary and currency. The project will provide electricity to the facility saving them money by reducing energy costs.

GZA GeoEnvironmental has assisted a number of clients in Massachusetts in making these projects viable through grants from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborate Renewable Energy Trust.

“Massachusetts has over 3,000 existing dams that have been idle for decades,” said William R. Beloff, President and CEO of GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. “The renewed concern for the environment and the cost of fossil fuels has led to a real interest in hydropower. These projects are also important to the community because they will result in the repair and ongoing maintenance of these existing dams.”