Partners to Host Public Meeting on the Study of Tidal Energy beneath the General Sullivan and Little Bay Bridges
Meeting June 24 at the NHDES Pease Field Office in Portsmouth
Portsmouth, NH – The New Hampshire Coastal Program at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) will host an informational meeting on the proposed tidal energy study in the Piscataqua River beneath the General Sullivan and Little Bay Bridges. The public is welcome to attend.
The focus of the meeting will be to review the UNH Center for Ocean Renewable Energy’s application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a preliminary permit to begin their tidal energy device testing project. The application requests to deploy a testing platform under the bridges for three years. That platform would rise and fall with the tide. FERC’s application review process will include a 60 day public comment period.
In 2007, a tidal energy commission was legislatively created to study the feasibility of tidal power generation in the Piscataqua River under the General Sullivan and Little Bay Bridges. After a year of scrutinizing the site’s unique conditions and the state of the technology, the commission determined that it is premature to build a commercial tidal energy project there, but that the site would be an ideal place to further test these technologies. It was recommended that UNH take the lead on the testing.
Meeting Details:
| What: | Public Meeting on the Study of Tidal Energy beneath the General Sullivan and Little Bay Bridges |
| When: | Wednesday, June 24; 1:00 p.m. |
| Where: | NHDES Pease Field Office, 50 International Drive, Portsmouth, NH |
Directions available at http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/coastal/categories/contactus.htm
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