Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, LLC (CAI) announced it is funding the construction of 22 hydroelectric projects (to be developed under the name Rye Hydro) at existing non-powered dams (NPDs) in the eastern U.S., alongside Rye Development LLC.
CAI is an infrastructure investment firm specializing in low-carbon real assets in the energy, water and transport sectors. Rye Development develops low-impact hydro-powered energy generation and energy storage.
Rye Development’s current portfolio will add hydroelectric turbines to 22 NPDs in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the majority of which are owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The potential generating capacity of these projects was not disclosed.
“We are pleased to partner with Paul Jacob and the strong management team at Rye Development as they install hydroelectric turbines at existing, non-powered dams across the Eastern United States,” said Bill Green, founder and managing partner of CAI. “The Rye Hydro investment is a perfect fit with CAI’s mission to fund large-scale, low-carbon infrastructure projects that withstand the policy risks and economic pressures of the global climate crisis.”
“CAI is an ideal partner as they bring substantial industry expertise and have unparalleled access to every corner of the low-carbon infrastructure investment and policy ecosystem,” said Paul Jacob, chief executive officer of Rye Development. “We look forward to working closely with the CAI team as we develop Rye Hydro to simultaneously strengthen the U.S. power grid, reduce carbon emissions, and address the climate crisis.”
In October 2020, Rye Development signed the Joint Statement of Collaboration on U.S. Hydropower between the U.S. hydropower industry and environmental community – an agreement led by Stanford University and the Energy Futures Initiative – outlining how the U.S. needs to address climate change by advancing both the renewable energy and storage benefits of hydropower and the environmental and economic benefits of healthy rivers.
