CURRENT ENERGY COMES ON

Drawing power from the Mississippi
Tom Fowler, April 6, 2009 (Houston Chronicle)

"…Hydro Green Energy placed [its first water-powered electric turbine on the Mississippi River ] just downstream from a hydropower plant operated by the city of Hastings, Minn., where it has been cranking out about 100 kilowatts, enough to power about 60 homes.

"The turbine, which is suspended under a barge anchored downstream from the dam’s spillway, is the first project of its kind licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission…That approval is important because it lets the turbine tie into the local electric grid and paves the way for future projects…"

The river installation. (click to enlarge)

"Six percent of the nation’s electricity came from hydropower in 2008…Most comes from dams also used for flood control…Hydrokinetic power, such as the Minnesota project, is different in that it taps into existing currents, including tidal currents and wave power, rather than water running through dams.

"One other hydrokinetic project is installed in the U.S. — Verdant Power’s pair of turbines mounted on the floor of the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn…Those units provide some power to a nearby store and a large parking garage, but they don’t have a FERC license allowing them to tie in to the grid."

Drawing of current energy turbines on the East River bed. (click to enlarge)

"…[H]ydrokinetic projects are included in a draft federal bill that requires states to have a certain percentage of their power come from renewable sources…A 2007 study by the Electric Power Research Institute found that the U.S. could develop at least 13,000 megawatts of river- and ocean-based kinetic hydropower projects by 2025…

"In 2008 venture capital firms invested $49.5 million in wave-energy companies and another $28 million in current and tidal companies…Of that $28 million, $24 million was invested in companies based in Great Britain, where there has long been interest in such projects…Hydro Green closed on $2.6 million in funding last year…"