STORY POSTED 11 A.M. MONDAY: The installation of a new transformer at the Schoolfield hydro plant was completed at 10:45 a.m. Monday. The detour on Memorial Drive has been removed and the street reopened to all traffic.
ORIGINIAL STORY POSTED THURSDAY, FEB. 2
The City of Danville will close the section of Memorial Drive at the Schoolfield hydroelectric plant to all traffic on Monday, Feb. 6, to allow for installation of a new transformer at the plant. The detour is scheduled for one day only.
During the installation, Memorial Drive will be closed from the Robertson Bridge to the property line of Danville Patient Care at 1955 Memorial Drive. Westbound traffic will be detoured onto Park Avenue to West Main Street. Eastbound motorists can detour at Bishop Road, but are encouraged to detour onto West Main Street to Park Avenue.
The detour will begin at 7 a.m. Monday.
Detour signs will be in place to redirect traffic. Motorists are urged to slow down when approaching this area and be alert to altered traffic patterns or consider an alternate route.
The installation of the transformer will allow the City to use the power generated at the hydroelectric plant. The new transformer will replace the current transformer, which does meet the voltage specifications needed for use by the City.
The City purchased the dam and the hydroelectric facility in June of 2013 from the bankruptcy estate of Dan River Inc. The Schoolfield facility is licensed to produce 4.5 megawatts of power. With the output from this facility, the City’s Pinnacles hydroelectric plant, and the City’s ownership share in five American Municipal Power hydroelectric plants, the City now will receive nearly 20 percent of the power it distributes to its customers from hydroelectric sources.
Although the City owns the Schoolfield plant and now will receive the power generated, STS Hydropower will continue to operate the plant under a lease arrangement with the City. STS has operated the Schoolfield hydroelectric facility for many years, but has been selling the power generated to Dominion Power since the bankruptcy of Dan River Inc.
Danville Utilities provides natural gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications services in Danville and distributes electricity to approximately 42,000 customer locations in a 500-square-mile service territory covering Danville, the southern third of Pittsylvania County, and small portions of Henry and Halifax counties.
