Peak Oil is You
Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)
Page added on February 13, 2012
Tidal Energy: the Next Wave in Alternative Energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently issued its first pilot project license for a tidal energy project located in New York City’s East River. The project is owned by Verdant Power and is known as the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project. The project’s capacity is 1,050-kilowatts and uses the East River’s natural tidal currents to generate alternative energy. Turbine generator units are mounted on the riverbed and capture energy from the tidal flow. The pilot license issued to Verdant Power is for 10 years.
“Issuing a pilot license for an innovative technology is a major step in the effort to help our country meet our renewable energy goals,” FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said. “FERC’s pilot process is doing what it should: allow for exploration of new renewable technologies while protecting the environment.”
FERC developed the pilot license process in 2008 to allow developers to test new hydrokinetic technologies, to determine appropriate sites for these technologies and to confirm the technologies’ environmental effects without compromising FERC’s oversight.
In order to quality for a pilot license, the project must meet the following criteria:
- small;
- short term;
- located in an environmentally non-sensitive area;
- removable and able to be shut down on short notice;
- removed, with the site restored, before the end of the license term unless the licensee obtains a new license;
- and initiated by a draft application with appropriate environmental analysis.
FERC said it has seen rising interest in the possibility of developing hydrokinetic projects and has issued 100 preliminary permits to study the feasibility of developing a specific project. Another nine entities are in the pre-filing stages of developing license applications, and three entities have filed license applications.
3 Comments on "Tidal Energy: the Next Wave in Alternative Energy"
Serial_Worrier on Mon, 13th Feb 2012 11:15 pm
Except Nantucket liberals don’t want to see tidal farms off their priceless beachfront property.
BillT on Tue, 14th Feb 2012 1:38 am
Another boondoggle pushed as a possible ‘savior’ energy source…in the harshest, most expensive environment in the world outside of an active volcano. No thought to maintenance or replacement after oil is gone. Or even how much this energy is going to cost the user. I suspect a lot of fools will lose their life savings investing in what will turn out to be a failure in a few years. Even worse, these pigs are probably already lined up at government (taxpayer) troughs for the feast. They are in the permitting stage..meaning years and maybe decades from practicality.
Janice on Thu, 16th Feb 2012 1:56 am
I’m not surprised that New York is where this Tidal Energy is going to happen. I’ve been doing a lot of research on alternative energy as I am planning to go green. Over and over again, it’s alternative energy new york that keeps popping up.