Project eyes canal for power

By Kristi Pihl
Tri-City Herald

An irrigation canal in Franklin County may become the site of the first power plant in the nation to use a new hydroelectric power technology.

Percheron Power of Kennewick hopes to build a small conduit project on a canal two miles west of Mesa near Road 170 and Langford Road.

The Franklin County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval for the conditional use permit for the project Tuesday, but the company has many other regulatory hoops to jump through before construction. Read more