Wave and Tidal Generation Open a New Frontier for Renewables
As wind farms sprout like sagegrass on the prairie in spring and solar-energy installations move toward ever-larger sizes, ocean energy may be the next frontier for alternative energy generation. That frontier can be found in the heart of America’s largest city, where an array of turbines is being submerged in the New York City’s East River to tap the tidal flow. The demonstration project is riveting the attention of the ocean-energy industry.
“That’s a world-leading project,” says Roger Bedard, ocean energy leader at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, Calif. “It’s the first electrically connected project, the first array of turbines and it involves extensive environmental monitoring.”