The Associated Press article, "Turbine promises profit, worries river advocates," published Dec. 27 in the News Tribune, contained ill-informed and misleading comments.
The licensing process, as documented through hundreds of pages of filings, took nearly two years, hardly a process that moved "so quickly," as the story stated. The process was open to all stakeholders, including the National Park Service, which manages the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
The park service provided extensive comments and public meetings. More important, in the license issued for the project, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission included several provisions addressing issues raised by the park service, including avian, fish entrainment, mussels and public signage. Claims the process "seems to be moving ahead without such questions being answered," were wrong.
The story stated the "hydrokinetic turbine's large propellers could grind up fish that are sucked in." This ignores some very basic facts. Fish "grinds" can occur in conventional hydroelectric turbines when fish are exposed to narrow gaps between fixed and moving structures. Hydro Green Energy's turbines were designed to have no gaps. Fish grinding is eliminated. Also, the flowing water downstream from Lock & Dam No. 2 spins the hydrokinetic turbine blades. The speed of the moving water in the hydrokinetic turbine moves at approximately the same speed as the rest of the water in the river below the dam. Fish are not "sucked in" the device.
The city of Hastings, Minn., should be applauded for taking an unparalleled leadership role in demonstrating how hydrokinetic power technologies perform and for showcasing how green energy technologies can help tackle serious economic and environmental challenges.
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Mark R. Stover
Austin, Texas
The writer is from Hydro Green Energy.
