Concepts for kinetic hydropower operational monitoring

Since 2003, Verdant Power, Inc. has worked to develop, demonstrate and commercialize the world’s first array of tidal turbines at its Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project in New York City’s East River. During the RITE Project Demonstration (2006-2008), Verdant generated ~70 MWh of renewable energy utilizing its Kinetic Hydropower System (KHPS). Verdant has proposed a commercial 1 MW build-out of 30 turbines, in an application to FERC’s Hydrokinetic Pilot Project Licensing process (FERC P-12611). The development of the final monitoring plans for this project are underway, with expected resolution in 2010. The RITE Demonstration project found that potential environmental effects were small and needed to be studied while machines are operating within an adaptable protocol consisting of a suite of technologies deployed at different scales, micro, meso and macro. Verdant suggests that a cost-effective set of techniques at these scales can supply adequate operational monitoring for pilot kinetic hydropower projects, as well as building a platform for understanding the effects of larger projects, while minimizing investment risk that is vital for the future of the MHK industry.