【New Energy Development】Riverbed Power Station: A new approach utilizing tidal energy
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May 4, 2016. China Industrial Electrical Appliance Network: The turbines built by this green energy company at the bottom of New York’s East River represent a new way of harnessing tidal energy; the company hopes to supply 25% of New York’s daily electricity needs in the future. Perhaps in the near future, part of the energy in New York City, USA, will come from rivers near its urban area. In September 2012, the U.S.-based green energy company Verdant Power conducted a 10-day test of tidal turbine generation on the bottom of the East River, between Roosevelt Island and Queens, to determine whether the turbines could withstand the intense force of water currents and adapt to changes in flow velocity. In addition to the strength of the tidal turbines, this test also evaluated the power generation performance when the turbines are arranged in larger arrays.
The green energy company installed 30 tidal turbines at the bottom of the East River. On average, each tidal turbine can generate around 35 kilowatts of power, which is equivalent to that of a wind turbine and sufficient to meet the daily electricity needs of 100 households. These tidal turbines resemble the hand-held fans used in summer, and consist of a support rod firmly fixed to the riverbed along with three turbine blades. Although in this experiment the turbine was submerged in the waters of the Donghe River for 10 days, no obvious signs of wear or damage were found on the blades. Taylor, the co-founder and CMO of the company, said that the firm is still working with other manufacturers to produce more durable layered fiberglass or plastic blades.
Based on the “free flow” system developed jointly by Green Energy Company and institutions such as the U.S. **Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Minnesota, it is not necessary to build dams or other civil structures to actively control tides. Instead, the natural movement of water currents and tides is utilized to drive a gearbox attached to a turbine, which in turn powers a generator connected to the power grid, thereby providing a stable supply of electricity. Dean Corren, the technical director of the green energy company, said that the bottom of the East River is a \"perfect testing ground\"; with water flow speeds of 2 meters per second, it is sufficient to cause the blades of tidal turbines to rotate slowly. Compared to other methods for harnessing tidal energy, such as tidal dams that require the construction of embankments and dynamic tidal energy technologies, this \"free flow\" system technology has lower costs and fewer ecological impacts.