June 26, 2008
Kennebec tidal project gets early nod
Federal regulators on Tuesday gave a national energy company the go-ahead to study the feasibility of a tidal energy project on the Kennebec River near Bath.
Maine Tidal Energy Co., a subsidiary of Washington, D.C.-based Oceana Energy Co., received a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study the potetnail for a tidal energy project between Chops Point in Woolwich and West Chops Point in Bath. The Kennebec Tidal Energy Hydroelectric Project would consist of 50 in-stream conversion devices, basically underwater propellers, that would have the potential to generate 438 gigawatt hours per year, according to FERC filings.
Maine Tidal submitted the application for a preliminary permit, which only allows the company to collect data and study the project's feasibility, in May 2006. Further permits and approvals would be necessary before any project was built.
A number of local groups have filed to intervene in the proceeding, some with concerns about the environmental impact of the project on the river.
Maine Tidal Energy Co., a subsidiary of Washington, D.C.-based Oceana Energy Co., received a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study the potetnail for a tidal energy project between Chops Point in Woolwich and West Chops Point in Bath. The Kennebec Tidal Energy Hydroelectric Project would consist of 50 in-stream conversion devices, basically underwater propellers, that would have the potential to generate 438 gigawatt hours per year, according to FERC filings.
Maine Tidal submitted the application for a preliminary permit, which only allows the company to collect data and study the project's feasibility, in May 2006. Further permits and approvals would be necessary before any project was built.
A number of local groups have filed to intervene in the proceeding, some with concerns about the environmental impact of the project on the river.
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