New idea would turn Niagara River into power plant

Two private hydropower companies have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to study stretches of the Niagara River, to determine the viability of installing hydrokinetic turbines that would transform the U.S. side of the river into a power plant.

Using the river's natural flow -- horizontal, not vertical like Niagara Falls -- to spin turbines, a projected 270 megawatts of power could be generated.

According to Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Gloucester, Mass.-based Free Flow Power Corp. has asked FERC for a preliminary permit to study a 17.5-megawatt project, which would be placed along 17.5 miles of the Niagara River fromthe Peace Bridge at the outlet of Lake Erie to the lower end of Grand Island, above Niagara Falls.

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Hydrokinetic power developer Hydro Green Energy LLC of Houston filed applications with FERC for similar permits to study two 70-MW projects. One is 1.9 miles downstream from Niagara Falls near the Whirlpool Bridge, the other four miles downstream, immediately above the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

Comments to FERC and motions to intervene are due May 19.

The study process could take years. Firms then would make financial arrangements to apply for a license. A permit does not authorize construction.

"It's an exciting technological concept, and pretty new in terms of applications," said Julie Barrett O'Neill, executive director of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, a not-for-profit organization that ensures the waters of the Niagara River region remain clean and healthy for those who play in it, and the wildlife living there.

"The Niagara River is an extraordinary ecological system," she said. "We need to learn a great deal of the impacts of these turbines and the potential impacts of putting them in the river in these locations."

The role of O'Neill's organization regarding the new energy opportunity is to act as an advocate for the health of the river.

Among the questions Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper will seek to have answered include how the new project will impact fishing and boating and swimming in the river.

For example, would someone be permitted to maneuver a kayak above or near the turbines? Or would that region be closed off and those parts of the waterway considered private property?

It's too early to tell.

"Our primary goal is to protect the Niagara River for long-term success and quality of life," she said. "We'll be reviewing the applications as a citizen advocacy group, and hoping with such a high-profile river, that Western New York can lead the nation in developing a method and investigate these projects and technology because this is not a finite issue. There are a lot of unknowns."