Tidal Project in Puget Sound Gets FERC’s License

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today issued a 10-year pilot license to Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County for the proposed Admiralty Inlet Pilot Tidal Project to be located in the Puget Sound in the state of Washington.

The 600-kilowatt Admiralty Inlet Project is an experimental project designed to determine whether commercial development of the tidal energy resources of Puget Sound is commercially viable. Today’s action authorizes Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County to study, monitor, and evaluate the environmental, economic, and cultural effects of hydrokinetic energy.

“The Admiralty Inlet Project is an innovative attempt to harness previously untapped energy resources,” Acting FERC Chairman Cheryl LaFleur said. “I look forward to the results of the experimental project and congratulate Snohomish for undertaking it.”

In issuing the license, FERC carefully considered the effect the Admiralty Inlet Project would have on sections of an under-sea fiber optic communication cable between the United States and Japan. FERC concluded that, with appropriate safety measures, the Admiralty Inlet Project would not pose a risk to the cable.

The pilot license contains measures to protect fish, wildlife, cultural and aesthetic resources, navigation and existing infrastructure. The license also contains several monitoring and adaptive management requirements to adequately protect against any adverse impacts from the project.

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Press release, March 20, 2014; Image: OpenHydro (Illustration)