N.Y. tidal power project will be a first for U.S.

A proposed tidal energy project to put six test turbines in New York City's East River cleared its final regulatory hurdle on April 28. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave Verdant Power permits to install turbines, which are expected to produce 200 kilowatts of power, said Trey Taylor, co-founder and president of the Virginia-based company.

 

The electricity generated will power a grocery store and parking lot on Roosevelt Island.

Taylor hopes that after a successful test, his company can install a field of 200 to 300 turbines in the area. That would be enough turbines to generate 10,000 kilowatts, which would power about 8,000 homes.

While the project will not be the first time power has been generated by tides, it will be the first of its kind in the United States, and it could be a step toward the world's first commercial tidal turbine power supply.

Other tidal power projects are in varying stages of design or operation in Europe, Canada and the United States, including:

* A permit application to install 100 to 300 tidal turbines in Deception Pass that would supply power to a local utility. Washington, D.C., law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Massachusetts-based consulting and engineering company TRC Environmental applied May 2 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the permit.

* A prototype 300 kilowatt offshore turbine that was installed in 2003 for testing in the Bristol Channel at Lynmouth, North Devon, England, according to IT Power's Web site. IT Power is a renewable energy consulting company based in England.

Marine Current Turbines, also in England, announced in January that it will study the same area for a commercial project using 12 turbines that could generate enough power for about 5,500 homes.

* A 15 kilowatt generator at Loche Linnhe in Scotland designed and tested by IT Power.

* Tidal generators at Race Rocks, B.C., that will generate about 9 kilowatts - the amount of power used by about eight houses. The turbines, scheduled for installation within the next 60 days, will provide power to a marine research station, said Dave Skilling, communications coordinator for Pearson College, which runs the labs.