Hydroelectric plant on Lehigh River?

ALLENTOWN - The tiny northeastern Pennsylvania borough of Weatherly has a plan to go green.

The Carbon County town is dusting off a 30-year-old idea of putting a hydroelectric plant on the Lehigh River at the Francis E. Walter Dam, according to The (Allentown) Morning Call.

Borough Manager Harold Pudliner said Wednesday the borough has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a preliminary permit to study building two generating units that could produce up to 26 gigawatt hours a year. That is more than 1,000 times the amount of megawatt hours used by Weatherly's 2,600 residents in a year.

The application says the excess energy would be sold to a local utility.    -AP