WNYC - News - Tidal Power: Can the East River Generate Electricity?: "Tidal Power: Can the East River Generate Electricity?
by Beth Fertig
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NEW YORK, NY April 05, 2007 —Approximately 14 percent of all electrical power in New York State comes from hydropower. Many environmentalists believe that figure should be higher. They see hydropower as a way of reducing our reliance on the fossil fuels that contribute to global warming. In our ongoing series on how the New York region is preparing for climate change, WNYC’s Beth Fertig looks at one small company that’s now experimenting with a new form of hydro-electric power right in the East River.
CORREN: The turbines actually turn very slowly. They’re five meters in diameter - that’s 16.4 feet - and they turn at about 34 RPM. Quite stately is my term for it. Also leading edges are very rounded and blunt. Also the inner part turns very slowly. So there’s only a very small area that could actually hurt fish if they were to hit it.
REPORTER: And those tests are just beginning. In a former shipping container that’s been turned into a control room, Verdant has spent several months already studying the habits of East River wildlife. Analyst Hannah Abend uses her computer to look at underwater images captured by a different sonar device last year.
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