FERC issues preliminary Kootznahoo permit
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Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a preliminary permit to Littoral Power Systems to study the feasibility of the proposed Kootznahoo Inlet tidal power project near the city of Angoon.
In a June 11 order FERC said the proposed project would consist of a partially buoyant submersed tidal energy converter with a 3-meter-diameter rotor tethered to an anchor post in the seabed in Kootznahoo Inlet, with generation up to 300 kilowatts; dual electric cables connecting to on-land storage; and on-land storage in the City of Angoon with individual lithium-ion battery cells.
FERC said the project would not connect directly to the Angoon electricity system.
The agency said it issued a public notice of the application April 7 and received no comments, interventions or competing permits.
The preliminary permit does not authorize construction, FERC said, but secured the permit holder’s priority while they study project feasibility. “Should the permittee file a license application, potential issues will be addressed in the licensing process,” FERC said.
The permit is good for 48 months and the permittee is required to submit progress reports every 12 months.
FERC said the permittee is expected to carry out prefiling consultation during the course of the permit and “study development leading to the possible development of a license application.”
Littoral application In Littoral’s application (see story in May 16 issue of PN), the company told FERC that tidal currents at Turn Point are known to be powerful. It cited a 1981 Alaska Power Authority report, “Angoon Tidal Power and Comparative Analysis,” which looked at power generation options which would allow the City of Angoon to replace on-site diesel generators. The company said generating electricity from tidal power at Kootznahoo Inlet was one of the options considered in the report, but, due to the location’s remoteness, “more accurate assessments of the tidal power resource are not available.”
Littoral told FERC the concept of the project “would be to generate electric power from a marine hydrokinetic device and store power in an energy storage system to be used by the City of Angoon as a supplement to other energy sources.”
The company said a turbine or combination of turbines generating 300 kilowatts would be appropriate based on existing power demand in Angoon and allowing for some growth. Such a turbine would provide some 600-megawatt hours of electricity in a year, Littoral said.
Preliminary studies for the project are estimated at $50,000.
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