"Power Struggle"-Part 2 (Tidal Power)
Wednesday, November 29, 2006SUSIE GHARIB: The importance of clean air is a key driver in the research and development of new and renewable energy sources. This week, our special series "Power Struggle" is looking at the search for those sources. Tonight, Stephanie Dhue looks at a project hoping to generate renewable energy from the ocean's tides and the struggle to prove that technology will work.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: This is where the East River passes New York City's Roosevelt Island. This area is also home to a test project for renewable energy. Ten feet below the surface, turbines will soon be installed that will harness the tides to generate electricity.
RON SMITH, CEO, VERDANT: The operational performance as well as the environmental performance...
DHUE: Ron Smith is the CEO of Verdant, the company behind the project. His goal is to prove that tidal power can pay off.
SMITH: The conventional wisdom today is that this can't be done because it will never be cost effective. Our intent and our challenge is to show that we can make it cost effective. Nobody's tried it.
DHUE: Since nobody has tried it before, Verdant has forged a new path for everything from designing the connections to the electricity grid, constructing the site and securing regulatory permits.
SMITH: Every time we turn a corner, there's just -- conventional practice does not address what we're trying to do here, so it's got to be - it's got to be tailored and customized and that takes a little bit of time.
DHUE: Verdant first began the project in 2003 and expects to complete the initial test phase in 2008. A key test is what impact the turbines will have on the fish population in the East River. Robert Goldstein is general counsel for the environmental group Riverkeeper. The group is usually at odds with business, patrolling local rivers to gather evidence against polluters. But for this tidal power project, Riverkeeper is working with the company to measure the impact on the river's ecology.
ROBERT GOLDSTEIN, GENERAL COUNSEL, RIVERKEEPER: It may have detrimental effects. We want to understand them. We want to know them. We want to be able to minimize them and I think, as we've been working with Verdant, we found that they want to achieve the same goals. They want to minimize the impact that their turbines are going to have on the biodiversity. We applaud that, but we want to see it work.
DHUE: To prove it works, Verdant sank $2 million into this underwater sonar system. The equipment tracks fish patterns to gauge their reaction to the turbines. The results will be provided to observers in real time.
GOLDSTEIN: We're natural skeptics, but we think that if they provide us with all the information that they generate, we can come to an intelligent conclusion and determine whether this project is really green.
DHUE: Experts say tidal and ocean wave power hold promise. One advantage over solar and wind is that tidal power is highly predictable. Studies suggest that tidal and wave could make up 5 percent of the nation's electric supply in the next five to 10 years.
ROGER BEDARD, OCEAN ENERGY LEADER, ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Wave and tidal energy, given proper citing, proper care and design, installation, operation and maintenance will become one of the more benign electricity generation technologies known to humankind.
DHUE: But first Verdant and others will have to prove it to investors, regulators and the public. Initially, the turbines will power this nearby complex, which houses a supermarket, parking garage and hybrid bus depot. If the project is successful, the plan is to build a 10-megawatt system, which could be enough to fuel 8,000 New York City homes. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Roosevelt Island, New York.
