Roth: A new wave in energy?

Recently, Verdant Power filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to install up to 30 new tidal power turbines in the east channel of New York’s East River – a first for the area. Yet, tidal energy is one of the oldest forms of energy.

Proponents like Verdant suggest that rising energy and environmental costs have made production of electricity by harnessing the power of the ocean tides economically feasible.

A tidal power plant (tide mill) is similar in principle to hydropower generation facilities in rivers. A barrage (dam) with a powerhouse and turbines is constructed across an estuary or embankment to form a basin (head pond) of sufficient size to allow production of electricity over a reasonable period.

For the simplest design, the basin is allowed to fill during flood tide through floodgates and a powerhouse, with turbines spinning freely. Power is produced on ebb tide.

This type of tide mills, in use on the Spanish, French and British coasts, date back to 787 A.D. Tide mills consisted of a storage pond, filled by the incoming (flood) tide through a sluice and emptied during the outgoing (ebb) tide through a water wheel. The tides turned water wheels, producing mechanical power to mill grain, as reported on oceanenergycouncil.com.

Tidal power is nonpolluting, reliable and predictable. Tidal barrages or undersea tidal turbines are like wind turbines, but driven by the sea. They use no fuel.

Once built, tidal power is essentially free, and the plants require little maintenance when compared to traditional power generation. The dams also promote travel by constructing roads across waterways.

There are some downfalls to tidal power. The initial construction of a turbine-style generation facility is expensive. Little is known about their true environmental impact on an area because there are so few tidal power plants in the world today.

The generation window of a tidal plant is variable and produces power for about 10 hours each day. The electric grid must be able to handle this type of variable power additions, which is a real challenge.

There is great potential for tidal power generation in the United States because many urban centers are close to the coasts.

Scientists suggest the waters off the Pacific Northwest have exceptional energy-producing potential. The tides along the Northwest coast fluctuate dramatically, as much as 12 feet a day. On the Atlantic seaboard, Maine is also an excellent candidate. Yet, the undersea environment is pretty hostile so the machinery will have to be robust.

Verdant Power has been researching the potential of the East River since 2006; the endeavor was partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, as reported in the Christian Science Monitor.

This is an interesting new step in energy policy and a different direction away from coal and other fossil-fuel generation facilities. This new direction is particularly interesting considering the enormous reserves of shale gas and coal in and around that region.

The cost of the East River plant is not completely compiled, but the Department of Energy has offered $50 million to help bring several projects to completion in the U.S., as reported in the Christian Science Monitor. But as you can imagine, $50 million is a drop in the bucket, or ocean, as the case may be, as its true price has not yet washed ashore.

Jim Roth, a former Oklahoma corporation commissioner, is an attorney with Phillips Murrah P.C. in Oklahoma City, where his practice focuses on clean, green energy for Oklahoma.