[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30458-30459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11955]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 12611-014]


Verdant Power, LLC; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental 
Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and 
Conditions, and Prescriptions

    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.: P-12611-014.
    c. Date filed: December 30, 2019.
    d. Applicant: Verdant Power, LLC (Verdant Power).
    e. Name of Project: Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project (RITE 
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 comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this 
notice; reply comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this 
notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions 
using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 
characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at 
https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. You must include your 
name and contact information at the end of your comments. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy. 
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other 
carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 
20852. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-
12611-014.
    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 and is now ready for 
environmental analysis.
    The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule on 
July 15, 2020, revising the regulations under 40 CFR parts 1500-1518 
that federal agencies use to implement NEPA (see Update to the 
Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act, 85 FR 43304). The Final Rule became effective 
on and applies to any NEPA process begun after September 14, 2020. An 
agency may also apply the regulations to ongoing activities and 
environmental documents begun before September 14, 2020, which includes 
the RITE Project. Commission staff intends to conduct its NEPA review 
in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. The existing pilot project license, which expires on December 
31, 2021, 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.
    On October 22, 2020, Verdant installed three turbine-generator 
units attached to one tri-frame mount under the existing pilot project 
license. Between October 2020 and January 2021, the pilot project 
generated about 90 megawatt-hours. Under the current pilot project 
license, Verdant is required to remove all project facilities, 
including triframe mounts and turbines, prior to the expiration of its 
pilot project license.
    The proposed 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, with underwater cables 
connecting five triframe mounts to two shoreline switchgear vaults. 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. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's 
website at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 
docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number 
field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS,'' or ``PRESCRIPTIONS;'' (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 submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise comply 
with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions or prescriptions must 
set forth their evidentiary basis and otherwise comply with the 
requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). Agencies may obtain copies of the 
application directly from the applicant. Each filing must be 
accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed on the service 
list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 
18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via

[[Page 30459]]

email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending 
projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.
    n. The applicant must file no later than 60 days following the date 
of issuance of this notice: (1) A copy of the water quality 
certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification, including 
proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the request; 
or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification. Please note 
that the certification request must comply with 40 CFR 121.5(b), 
including documentation that a pre-filing meeting request was submitted 
to the certifying authority at least 30 days prior to submitting the 
certification request. Please also note that the certification request 
must be sent to the certifying authority and to the Commission 
concurrently.
    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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Deadline for Filing Comments,            August 2021.
 Recommendations, and Agency Terms and
 Conditions/Prescriptions.
Deadline for Filing Reply Comments.....  September 2021.
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    Dated: June 2, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-11955 Filed 6-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


