HYDROPOWER: RAPID RETURNS?

By Dan Miner<br><a href="mailto:minerd@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dan</a>

Several companies are eyeing spots on the Niagara River floor to place a new technology they say could produce hundreds of “green collar” jobs and clean electricity.

Essentially, both Massachusetts-based Free Flow Power Corp. and Texas-based Hydro Green Energy want to install finely tuned mechanical water mills, or hydropower turbines, that could conceivably produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in Niagara Falls and then some.

If they do develop the river floor, they’ll sell the electricity at competitive rates, officials for the companies said.

“There’s tremendous potential if we can fully employ these technologies,” said Wayne Krouse, Hydro Green CEO.

Both companies have applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for preliminary permits, which would allow them to do studies and local outreach before they begin the federal licensing process.

Free Flow has applied for a preliminary permit for an 875-turbine project running from the Peace Bridge to Grand Island, a 17.5 mile stretch.

Hydro Green has applications for two projects, including a 36-turbine project just below the falls and 54 turbines just above the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

Environmental concerns exist

There are already signs that the local residents and groups may not immediately welcome the companies with open arms. Two groups, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and the Niagara River Greenway Commission, have filed motions to intervene in the permitting process, giving them the chance to comment and potentially object during the permitting and licensing process.

Last week, Riverkeeper Executive Director Julie Barrett O’Neill spoke of the potential damage to aquatic habitats from river turbines but also of their potential as a source of clean energy.

Tom Sullivan, who avidly hikes the trials along the Niagara Gorge in Niagara Falls, is also concerned.

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“We wouldn’t even see anything from it,” Sullivan said of the potential local economic benefits of the turbines. “They’d be making a profit in exploiting our river and we’d get nothing for it.”

Sullivan referenced industrial dumping points and jet boat tours and said he’s worried about overdeveloping the river.

“At some point, when is enough enough?” he asked.

In separate interviews this week, officials at the two companies stressed the collaborative public process in licensing the turbines. Dan R. Irvin, president and CEO of Free Flow, said studies have indicated the environmental impact would be minimal.

The turbine blades, which would move as fast as the river current, wouldn’t be fast enough to hurt fish, he said. He said that more specific studies must be done to be sure the turbines are safe.

Mark Stover, a vice president for Hydro Green, said the whole industry has the potential to be impact-free.

“I can understand right now why some folks might have some anxiety or hesitation for developments like ours,” he said. “This is a new technology. There are a lot of unknowns right now.”

An emerging industry

Both companies have a number of preliminary permits and applications pending with FERC in other parts of the country. Neither of them has yet installed a development.

According to Krouse, the industry began when companies in the United Kingdom began taking advantage of tidal currents.

Considering the national energy crunch, the technology has spread to the United States. He referenced a Department of Energy study which said there’s potential for hydropower turbines to provide almost 20 percent of the nation’s electricity.

The companies aren’t competing with each other just yet, Irvin said.

“We’re pretty happy to see (Hydro Green involved) too,” he said. “We think the more people involved in the industry right now the quicker people will understand the benefits. It’s an industry where there’s so much opportunity I don’t think of other hydrokinetic developers as competitors just yet. We’re years and years away.”

Companies differ in outlook

Stover said if Hydro Green expects the preliminary permits to be accepted soon and will likely apply for a FERC pilot license, which will fast-track the construction timetable but requires smaller developments and shorter-term licenses, so they can be revisited.

“We want to be responsible renewable energy developers,” Krouse said. “So that we can show people that those concerns and issues have been addressed.”

For Free Flow, Irvin said the company must seriously study the economics of turbines in the Niagara River before making a decision. He said such developments are not nearly as profitable as traditional hydropower plants, such as the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston.

“Right now we’re in the stage of aggressively researching the site and trying to determine whether it’s a viable site,” he said.

Contact reporter Dan Miner

at 282-2311, ext. 2263.