On September 19 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a preliminary permit for a proposed tidal power project in Pembroke, despite widespread opposition to the proposal. The permit, for a term of four years, grants Pembroke Tidal Power Project LLC priority to file a license application during that period. A preliminary permit does not authorize the company to perform any land-disturbing activities or enter on lands or waters not owned by the company, without the owners' permission.
      The proposal has a new name but an almost identical design to one proposed by Halcyon Tidal Power that was debated from 2010 to 2016, when FERC terminated the application, citing the lack of progress by the company on required studies. The new company is under the umbrella of Nestar Energy, with Brad Fletcher as the CEO and Ramez Atiya as the chief technical officer. Atiya was also the chairman of Halcyon Tidal Power.
      FERC had issued public notice of the new permit application on March 28, with a deadline of May 27 for filing comments and interventions. Many filed comments in opposition to the proposal, including the Pembroke selectmen, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and more than 60 Pembroke residents who signed one of the letters. Along with the tribe, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife filed notices of intervention. Pembroke Tidal responded to the comments that were filed in opposition.
      The project, which would extend across the river from Kelly Point on Leighton Point Road to Hersey Neck, would include a 9.8' x 1,640' concrete tidal diversion dam; a 118' x 141' concrete powerhouse caisson housing four turbine generators each with a generating capacity of 5.3 megawatts; a boat lift; two rock embankments; and a 2.5-mile-long, 35-kilovolt transmission line connecting to the regional grid. Annual generation is estimated at 87,000 megawatt hours. The use of piles to support the project's structures would reduce the dimensions of the enclosure elements by about 80%, resulting in an enclosure that is not more than three meters wide.
      In the order issuing the preliminary permit, Debbie-Anne Reese, acting secretary of FERC, notes that the permit allows Pembroke Tidal to gather data and information to prepare an application to FERC for a license for the project. The permit conditions are framed so that Pembroke Tidal "does not tie up a site without pursuing in good faith a study of the project's feasibility."
      According to the FERC order, those who submitted comments expressed concern about potential impacts of the project on commercial and recreational fishing; aquatic species, particularly anadromous fish; erosion; recreation and tourism; the local economy; and tribal and cultural resources. The tribe expressed concern about the project's potential to negatively impact fish and wildlife in the area by obstructing fish passage and degrading important habitat.
      In response, Pembroke Tidal states that the proposed project would not interfere with commercial fishing or marine life and is intended to be a "full scale demonstration that low environmental impact tidal power can be developed." To support tidal loads, the company states that the proposed project would use piles, which would have less environmental impact than the large caissons often used in tidal projects. It also proposes to use an alternative turbine design that has been shown to reduce fish injury and mortality, and the project design would allow fish passage at all levels of the water column. Pembroke Tidal also contends that the proposed project is designed to avoid water quality issues because it delays the tide by only 1.7 hours but preserves the tide's natural flow volumes.
      In its order, FERC notes that concerns "regarding the impacts of project construction and operation on any resource, including water quality, aquatic resource habitats and species, erosion, tribal and cultural resources, scenic and recreational values and any additional impacts to the surrounding community, as well as economic issues, would be addressed and considered during a licensing proceeding, should Pembroke Tidal ultimately prepare a license application."
      The letter signed by more than 60 Pembroke residents points out that the previous proposal was terminated by FERC because the applicant failed to meet reporting deadlines and failed to secure financing for any of the required field studies. The letter asserts that Pembroke Tidal may be attempting to obtain federal funding for a dam technology that "has never been validated in any field or laboratory system." Pembroke Tidal disagrees that its technology has not been validated, noting two examples. In its order, FERC states that the commission does not scrutinize a permit applicant's ability to finance its project.
      Under the preliminary permit requirements, Pembroke Tidal must submit a progress report each year to FERC.