Dream of tapping tides as energy resource lives on

As a new federal report touts the potential for tidal energy and a license has been approved for the nation's first such project, a proposal to tap the tides of eastern Long Island Sound as a power source has been revived.

Natural Currents Energy Services of Highland, N.Y., last month filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a preliminary permit to conduct studies in a 17-square-mile underwater zone off Orient Point, Long Island, that would include the areas known as The Race and Plum Gut.

"It's a world-class site and could be an exceptional power source," Roger Bason, president of Natural Currents Energy, said Wednesday.

The company, which has several applications pending with FERC for projects on both coasts, previously had a preliminary FERC permit for the eastern Long Island Sound site that was canceled in late 2009. Bason, who grew up on Long Island, said, however, that he remained interested in the site because of its potential and applied for a new permit to restart the process.

He believes a system of underwater turbines there could convert the mechanical energy of the tides into as much transmittable energy as produced by a 1,000-megawatt power plant. According to the application, the site identified for the turbine would be located in waters of the Sound governed by New York state.

The power generated there, however, would be fed into the New England Power Pool through cable connections that would traverse Connecticut or Rhode Island, the application states.

If FERC grants Natural Currents a preliminary permit, the company would have priority over other potential developers to conduct detailed on-site feasibility studies, said Celeste Miller, FERC spokeswoman. The agency will be issuing a request for public comment on the application within the next few months, she said.

Last week, FERC approved a license for the nation's first tidal energy project. Verdant Power plans to build a pilot system of tidal energy turbines in the East River near Roosevelt Island in New York City. The test project would determine whether the site would be suitable for a larger, permanent system of tidal energy turbines.

In its announcement of the license approval, FERC said it has seen rising interest in hydrokinetic projects, and over the last few years has issued 100 preliminary permit licenses to companies to study specific sites.

Among the recent recipients is Natural Currents, for a site off Atlantic City, N.J. Bason said he is hoping for approvals for a site near Wards Island, N.Y., within the next month.

The company has several other applications pending at sites from Alaska to the East Coast, Bason said, "because we understand that not every site works out, and we're trying to identify the areas where there is strong economic incentive to get going."

The investment and time involved in developing these projects is significant, he said, noting that Verdant began pursing the Roosevelt Island site 10 years ago. Bason said he is looking to work in states that are offering incentives and a welcoming regulatory environment, adding that he has had positive discussions with state governments in New York and New Jersey but has not made any overtures in Connecticut.

"There can be a huge gap between the rhetoric of clean energy and the need to streamline the permitting and regulatory agencies to match the speed of business," he said. "All it takes is one bureaucrat to stymie years of work."

Discussions with EB

In addition to seeking sites for underwater turbines, Bason said he is also looking for a location in the Northeast to manufacture turbine parts. When his earlier application for the eastern Long Island site was pending, he said, he had some preliminary discussions with Electric Boat in Groton about whether the company would be interested in manufacturing turbine blades. He said he has not had recent discussions with EB.

EB has had some preliminary discussions with a few companies about manufacturing blades and other parts for underwater turbines, EB spokesman Robert Hamilton said, but could not confirm talks specifically with Natural Currents. EB is interested in the potential, he said, because it would expand its business by making use of the same types of skills and expertise it has developed making submarines.

"It would fit into our business model, no question," Hamilton said. "It would be in a marine environment, with close tolerances and it would be high-tech manufacturing."

If Natural Currents' eastern Long Island Sound project progresses, it also would need approvals from New York state regulatory agencies. It is unclear whether Connecticut agencies would become involved.

Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said that if the project affects Connecticut waters, a DEEP water quality certificate and other permits may be required. The agency had reviewed Natural Currents' previous FERC application and had informed the company that it would consider impacts of the tidal turbines on fish and other marine life, the undersea habitat, recreational and commercial fishing and navigation, among other issues, in determining whether to grant state approvals.

A significant source

Since the first application, the former state Department of Environmental Protection has been expanded into DEEP, with oversight over utilities and energy projects as well as environmental regulation.

"We encourage the use of innovative technologies to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and to meet the state's goals for cheaper and cleaner energy," Schain said Thursday. "But this must be done in a manner that is friendly to the environment and protects the natural resources of this state."

According to a report released last week, there is significant potential for power generation from ocean wave, tidal and conventional hydropower projects nationwide. Funded by the federal Department of Energy, the study concludes that these sources could provide up to 15 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030. The study was conducted by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology on behalf of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, a marine and hydrokinetic energy trade association that includes Natural Currents and Verdant Power as members.

Kevin Haas, one of the report's authors and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech, said underwater turbines in eastern Long Island Sound could be a supplemental power source for the region. Rough estimates developed for the report indicate a system there would produce 200 to 225 megawatts of electricity, less than that produced by the average small power plant and also lower than the potential estimated by Bason.

Haas cautioned, however, that there is a lot of uncertainty in his calculations. He added that sites near Block Island, R.I., were also identified in his research as potential sites for underwater turbines. Environmental analysis done for the Verdant Power project thus far shows its environmental impacts would be minimal, in part because the turbine blades move relatively slowly so tend not to harm fish and other marine animals, Haas said.

j.benson@theday.com