[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 160 (Tuesday, August 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50820-50821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17997]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 12611-014]


Verdant Power, LLC; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

    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 (or 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: 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Andy Bernick at (202) 502-8660 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: 30 days from the issuance 
date of this notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief 
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the 
eComment system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You 
must include your name and contact information at the end of your 
comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (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, Room 1A, 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 is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    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.

[[Page 50821]]

    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 [email protected] or call toll-free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY, 
(202) 502-8659.
    You may also register online at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    o. Scoping Process.
    The Commission, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) 
for the RITE Project in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action.
    Commission staff does not propose to conduct any on-site scoping 
meetings at this time. Instead, we are soliciting comments, 
recommendations, and information, on the Scoping Document 1 (SD1) 
issued August 12, 2020.
    Copies of SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EA 
were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. 
Copies of SD1 may be viewed on the web 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, call 
1-866-208-3676 or for TTY, (202) 502-8659.

    Dated: August 12, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-17997 Filed 8-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P