Projects undergoing relicensing make up the majority of the proposals being evaluated by the hydropower licensing staff of the Office of Energy Projects. The commission has three licensing processes.
At least 5 years before a license expires, the licensee must file a notice of intent declaring whether or not it intends to seek a new license (relicense) for its project. At least 2 years before a license expires, the licensee must file an application for new license.
The greatest amount of authorized generating capacity - approximately 7,420 megawatts - will come up for relicensing in 2007. Between 2005 and 2015, the top five states for number of licenses expiring are California, New York, Oregon, Washington and North Carolina.