News

New owner eager to get Lake Summit dam 'up and going'

A crew from Duke Energy works on a power substation near the damaged hydroelectric project in Tuxedo.

By Amy McCraw, Published: October 26, 2026

A Colorado company that specializes in fixing aging hydroelectric power plants recently bought the hydroelectric project in Tuxedo that sustained severe damage when Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina two years ago.

A representative from HydroWest, which is based near Telluride, Colo, on Monday said the company bought the Tuxedo project a little over a week ago and hopes to begin making repairs immediately.
“We think there is a lot of opportunity to get this thing up and going,” Sam Perry, a managing member of HydroWest, said. “We’ve been working with different groups trying to figure this out.”
Perry said his partner at the company was working at the Tuxedo project on Monday.
The company’s goal is to finish work that will restore control over the project’s dam on Lake Summit by next summer. Once the dam is functioning, it will allow the company to manipulate the level of the lake and provide regular flows of water down Green River, Perry said.
HydroWest also hopes the project’s power plant will begin generating electricity in the next two years.
Representatives from HydroWest visited the Tuxedo project several times over the last year as they considered a deal to the buy the property.
The company eventually decided that buying and repairing the power plant and dam in Tuxedo was a good fit for HydroWest, Perry said.
“Well, it’s a beautiful spot. It’s a really exciting opportunity. It’s what our company specializes in,” he said. “It could really affect the community in a positive way to get this thing going again.”
Perry said the company’s decision to buy the hydroelectric project in Tuxedo also came with a little encouragement from a family friend who had attended Camp Green Cove in Tuxedo as a child.
“She was like, ‘Lake Summit, you’ve got to get that back going,’” he said.
In a press release announcing it bought the Tuxedo project from Northbrook Energy, based in Scottsdale, Ariz, HydroWest said it planned to give community updates on the work to repair the project’s dam and powerplant as milestones are confirmed and completed.
“Our aim is to return the Tuxedo Hydropower station to full operation, with capabilities similar to those that pre-dated Helene. We recognize that the Lake Summit dam has additional value to the community and local economy far exceeding hydropower and look forward to working with other affected parties. We welcome their interest and cooperation,” according to the press release. “HydroWest is already engaged directly with both the Lake Summit Property Owners Association and representatives of the recreational and whitewater communities to design a rehabilitation plan that serves all stakeholders.”
When it hit the mountains two years ago, Helene caused severe damage to the hydroelectric project on Green River, which includes the 106-year-old dam on Lake Summit and a penstock (pipe system) which carries water to a powerhouse.
Damage to both the powerhouse and pipe system left dam operators unable to use the dam to manipulate either the natural lake levels upstream of the dam or the natural water flows downstream.
Water from the 290-acre lake, which remains 3 feet higher than normal, continues to flow over the dam.
The busted powerhouse, damaged pipe system and inoperable dam led to officials requiring that Lake Summit become a no-wake zone while property owners on the lake continue to contend with flooded boathouses and damaged docks. The damage to the hydroelectric project also stifled recreation downstream that depended on regular releases of water to support kayaking and tubing on Green River.
And emergency officials continue to worry about what might happen both downstream and upstream of the dam if it is not repaired before the county sees another serious storm.
Henderson County Emergency Services Director Jimmy Brissie on Monday called plans to fix the dam on Lake Summit an exciting step in the county’s ongoing recovery from Helene.
“Getting water-level control is going to be critical to protecting the lake and upstream on Green River,” he said. “Hopefully, we will see movement in the coming weeks and months and it will return to the way it was.”
During Helene, water from the lake backed up into Green River and caused flooding upstream. Another strong storm could cause similar problems along the river as long as the dam remains inoperable.
The lake backup during the storm also closed N.C. 225 for a time and led to first responders evacuating two people from a home near the road.
Henderson County Manager John Mitchell said he too was pleased to learn that HydroWest plans to begin work on the dam.
Restoring the regular releases of water from the dam is important for the local economy and the kayaking and tubing businesses that depend on the river.
Green River is a destination for paddlers and part of what makes Henderson County special, he said.
“It’s like apples, goats at the Sandburg House and summer camps,” he said. “It’s something that makes Henderson County, Henderson County.”
The hydroelectric project in Tuxedo could receive up to $4 million as part of an allocation of $20 million set aside for dam repair and replacement in the budget the North Carolina General Assembly passed in July.
Mitchell said he is continuing to work with the state house Rep. Jake Johnson to secure the funding for repairs to the dam as the state makes technical adjustments to the allocation bill.
He said he wants to make sure funding for dams in Henderson County, including the one on Lake Summit, stays in the budget as adjustments are made.
The sale of the hydroelectric project in Tuxedo to HydroWest closes a chapter in its history with Northbrook Energy.
In 2019, Duke Energy Carolinas sold the dam and powerplant in Tuxedo and four other small hydroelectric power plants in Western North Carolina to Northbrook Energy in Scottdale, Ariz. A Duke Press release at the time described Northbrook as a longtime power producer in the United States.
Duke at the time agreed to purchase all of the energy generated by the power plants for five years through power purchase agreements with Northbrook.
In 1920, The Blue Ridge Power and Light Company began building the dam on the Green River in the Zirconia community that eventually formed Lake Summit, which extends into the Tuxedo community. The operations center for the power plant was established at Pot Shoals located in the Macedonia community of Henderson County, according to the local Henderson Heritage website.
In 1927, the Blue Ridge Power and Light Company sold the power plant to the Duke Power Company.