2011-17992. Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC; Notice Concluding Pre-Filing Process and Approving Process Plan And Schedule

a. Type of Filing: Notice of Intent to File Application for License for a Hydrokinetic Pilot Project.

b. Project No.: 12711-003.

c. Dated Filed: July 24, 2009.

d. Submitted By: Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC.

e. Name of Project: Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project.

f. Location: In Cobscook Bay, in Washington County, Maine. The project would not occupy federal lands.

g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR 5.3 and 5.5 of the Commission's regulations.

h. Applicant Contact: Christopher R. Sauer, Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC, 120 Exchange Street, Suite 508, Portland, Maine 04101, [phone].

i. FERC Contact: Timothy Konnert [phone].

j. Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC (ORPC) has filed with the Commission: (1) A notice of intent (NOI) to file an application for a pilot hydrokinetic hydropower project and a draft license application with monitoring plans; (2) a request for waivers of certain Integrated Licensing Process (ILP) regulations necessary for expedited processing of a license application for a hydrokinetic pilot project; (3) a proposed process plan and schedule; and (4) a request to be designated as the non-federal representative for section 7 of the Endangered Species Act consultation and for section 106 consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act.

k. A notice was issued on August 7, 2009, soliciting comments on the draft license application from agencies and stakeholders. Comments were filed by federal and state agencies, and non-governmental organizations. No comments were filed opposing the request to waive the ILP regulations or the proposed process plan and schedule.

l. ORPC was designated as the non-federal representative for section 7 of the Endangered Species Act consultation and for section 106 consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act on August 7, 2009.

m. ORPC proposes a two-phased development approach for the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project. The project would consist of: (1) A single 5-meter-diameter axial flow Kinetic System turbine generator unit (TGU) mounted on a triframe mount, with a rated capacity of 60 kilowatts (kW), in Phase 1; (2) four 5-meter-diameter axial flow Kinetic System TGUs mounted on triframe mounts, with a rated capacity of 60 kW each, in Phase 2; (3) a direct current power and data cable approximately 3,800 feet long (3,600 feet underwater and 200 feet on shore) extending from the TGUs to the onshore station house; (4) an on-shore building 32 feet wide by 35 feet long, housing the SatCon power inverter and the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system; and (5) appurtenant facilities for navigation safety and operation. The project would have a total rated capacity of 300 kW, with an estimated annual generation between 1,200,000 and 1,300,000 kilowatt-hours.

n. The pre-filing process has been concluded and the requisite regulations have been waived such that the process and schedule indicated below can be implemented.

o. Post-filing process schedule. The post-filing process will be conducted pursuant to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as needed.

Milestones	Dates
Final license application expected	August 31, 2011.
Issue notice of acceptance and ready for environmental analysis and request for interventions	September 15, 2011.
Issue biological assessment	September 15, 2011.
Recommendations, conditions, comments and interventions due	October 15, 2011.
Issue notice of availability of environmental assessment	December 14, 2011.
Comments due and 10(j) resolution, if needed	January 13, 2011.

p. Register online at http://ferc.gov/​esubscribenow.htm to be notified via e-mail of new filing and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

Dated: July 12, 2011.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.