[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 122 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37940-37941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13558]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 12611-014]


Verdant Power, LLC; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing and 
Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 12611-014.
    c. Date filed: December 30, 2019.
    d. Applicant: Verdant Power, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project.
    f. Location: On the East River in New York County, New York. The 
project does not occupy federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Ronald F. Smith, President and Chief 
Operating Officer, Verdant Power, LLC, P.O. Box 282, Roosevelt Island, 
New York, New York 10044. Phone: (703) 328-6842. Email: 
rsmith@verdantpower.com.
    i. FERC Contact: Andy Bernick at (202) 502-8660 or 
andrew.bernick@ferc.gov.
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests: 60 days 
from the issuance date of this notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
motions to intervene and protests using the Commission's eFiling system 
at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. For assistance, please 
contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-
3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors filing 
documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each 
person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an 
intervenor files comments or documents with the Commission relating to 
the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a 
particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of the document 
on that resource agency.
    k. This application has been accepted for filing but is not ready 
for environmental analysis.
    l. The existing pilot project license authorizes the following 
project facilities: (a) Thirty 35-kilowatt, 5-meter-diameter axial flow 
turbine-generator units; (b) ten triframe mounts, each supporting three 
turbine-generator units; (c) 480-volt underwater cables from each 
triframe mount to five shoreline switchgear vaults that interconnect to 
a control room and interconnection points; and (d) appurtenant 
facilities for navigation safety and operation.
    Under the current pilot project license, which expires on December 
31, 2021, Verdant installed, tested, and then removed a total of five 
turbine-generator units. Verdant also proposes to install three 
turbine-generator units attached to one triframe mount in late 2020 
(i.e., Install B-1), under the existing pilot project license.
    The proposed project would be constructed in three phases: Install 
B-1 (under the existing pilot license, as noted above), Install B-2 
(three triframe mounts with a total of nine turbine-generator units), 
and Install C (one triframe mount with three turbine-generator units). 
The project would consist of a maximum of fifteen 35-kilowatt, 5-meter-
diameter axial flow turbine-generator units with a total installed 
capacity of 0.525 megawatt. Each of the five triframe mounts would be 
connected via underwater cables to an existing control room and a 
proposed shoreline switchgear vault, and via an overhead transmission 
line (for the first two triframe mounts) and an underground 
transmission line (for the remaining three triframe mounts) to a point 
of interconnection.
    The project would operate using the natural tidal currents of the 
East River, during both ebb and flood tidal periods. As the direction 
of tidal flow changes, each turbine-generator unit would rotate (or 
yaw) to align the rotor to the direction of flow, through a passive 
system caused by hydrodynamic forces on the turbine-generator unit. The 
annual generation is expected to be from 840 to 1,200 megawatt-hours.
    m. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested individuals an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (www.ferc.gov) using the 
eLibrary link. At this time, the Commission has suspended access to the 
Commission's Public Access Room due to the proclamation declaring a 
National Emergency concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), 
issued by the President on March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC 
at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call toll-free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY, 
(202) 502-8659.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/

[[Page 37941]]

esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    n. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene 
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining the appropriate action 
to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments 
filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with 
the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any 
comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or 
before the specified comment date for the particular application.
    When the application is ready for environmental analysis, the 
Commission will issue a public notice requesting comments, 
recommendations, terms and conditions, or prescriptions.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title PROTEST 
or MOTION TO INTERVENE, (2) set forth in the heading the name of the 
applicant and the project number of the application to which the filing 
responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone number of the 
person protesting or intervening; and (4) otherwise comply with the 
requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. Agencies may obtain 
copies of the application directly from the applicant. A copy of any 
protest or motion to intervene must be served upon each representative 
of the applicant specified in the particular application.
    o. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as 
appropriate.

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                Milestone                           Target date
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Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments....  August 2020.
Issue Scoping Document 2 (if necessary)..  October 2020.
Issue notice of ready for environmental    October 2020.
 analysis.
Issue Single EA..........................  April 2021.
Comments on EA...........................  May 2021.
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    Dated: June 17, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-13558 Filed 6-23-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


