NEW ENGLAND TIDE ENERGY

Wave, tide and current energies: the sleeping giant of New Energy.

Tapping the Energy of the Tides
Amy Quinton, July 13, 2007 (New Hampshire Public Radio)

WHO
Verdant Power, Underwater Electric Kite Company, New Hampshire Tidal Energy Company (owned by Oceana Energy), the state of New Hampshire

WHAT
New Hampshire state legislators have passed legislation to study the Piscataqua River tides as an inexhaustibly renewable energy source. Underwater Electric Kite and New Hampshire Tidal Energy/Oceana Energy have permits for the study.

WHEN
The study will run 3 years.
The Piscataqua River running under the General Sullivan Bridge at Dover (click to enlarge)

WHERE
- The feasibility study will look at tidal energy under the General Sullivan and Little Bay Bridge in Dove, New Hampshire.
- Underwater Electric Kite Company—Annapolis, Maryland
- Verdant Power—New York City

WHY
- Tide energy is, unlike wind, entirely predictable. The Piscataqua River tide moves at 9 feet/second, a significant force. And water is 800 times denser than wind and thereby a much more potent force.
- Tide energy capture technologies are expensive and unproven.
- Only Verdant Power is producing it in the U. S., with 6 underwater turbines in New York City’s East River powering a supermarket’s lights and a Roosevelt Island parking garage which charges a fleet of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Verdant’s goal: 300 turbines powering 8000 homes.
- What works in the East River may not work in the Piscataqua River, which has deeper water and more abundant marine life.
- Underwater Electric Kite Company has a turbine designed to protect marine life. It predicts a $2.4 million cost will produce 40 megawatts.
- New Hampshire Tidal Energy/Oceana will place its large Ferris Wheel-like devices in 3 stretches of the Piscataqua. Marine life can swim through them unharmed. The size of the wheel varies according to the depth of water and strength of current and tide.

The Underwater Electric Kite turbine with sealife protective screen (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- N. H. Representative Tom Fargo of Dove: “Unlike wind power, the benefit of tidal power is its reliability… the tide will flow until the earth rotates no more, it’s available, we know when it’s coming, we know from day to day and even hour to hour how much energy you’re going to be able to get from it, it’s very predictable…”
- Trey Taylor, Verdant Power founder: “…but also inside that garage there are electric vehicles, there’s hybrid electric buses, but also there’s little electric vehicles that go up and down Roosevelt Island, something a little bit bigger than golf carts, and those are all being plugged into our tidal power which I think is a pretty cool story in and of itself.”
- Philip Vauthier, President, Underwater Electric Kite Company: “…we put a screen in front of the turbine to protect the fish…absolutely no problem with them, anything bigger than three quarters of an inch is safe it will be deflected…smaller fish would be able to glide through unharmed.”
- Charles Cooper, technical advisor, New Hampshire Tidal Energy/Oceana: “I’d be surprised if it reached more than 100 megawatts at the most and that would be very optimistic, that’s not trivial in that it certainly can supply a number of end uses bit it’s not going to be the baseload for the region.”