KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) — Franklin County commissioners approved a conditional use permit Wednesday for a Kennewick company’s plan to install turbines on an irrigation canal to generate electricity.
Percheron Power believes tapping the water flow near Mesa could power about 500 homes.
The Tri-City Herald reports (http://is.gd/wXKu31 ) the project still needs other permits and licenses that may take three to five years.
Percheron Power has received a $1.5 million federal grant toward the project, which is expected to cost about $5 million.
The turbines would not change the water level in the Potholes East Canal. It would continue to irrigate more than 100,000 acres of farmland in the spring and summer.
