Wave-energy towers proposed off Block Island (RI)

[jpak]

http://www.pbn.com/stories/36704.htm

BLOCK ISLAND – The list of suitors lining up to develop renewable-energy projects off Rhode Island’s coastal waters is getting longer.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has begun reviewing a permit application from Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Co., a year-old company based in Seattle, to build 100 large towers that would generate electricity from wave energy and wind turbines.

The towers, which Grays Harbor says would use the same support technology as offshore oil platforms, would be located in a 96-square-mile area of federal waters 12 to 25 miles to the south of Block Island. Wind turbines could be placed on top of the towers, although that would require a separate application process.

<snip>

Each wave-energy converter would be capable of generating 1 megawatt of electricity when operating at peak capacity - typically, during the winter - and about 0.25 megawatts on average. If all 100 were constructed, the wave energy alone would generate an average of 300 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year, according to the FERC.

<more>

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

1. Go Rhode Island!

Wave energy usually doesn't make the litanies of people talking alternative energy ("solar, wind, biofuels") but I have a feeling that it is soon going to become a primary moving force in our efforts to switch our energy supply to more sustainable, renewable forms.

I used to swim and fish at the bluffs on S. Block Island when I worked on the ferry from Newport.

Big things are happening here in Oregon in both wind power and tidal energy development. I'm glad to see that the far coast is responding as well!

[quidam56]

2. Appalachia is turning into a toxic waste dump third world America

A member of The Wise County, Virginia Board of Supervisor's is concerned about what will happen with the coal severance tax if Mountaintop Removal is stopped. The mentality of the politicians is so behind that we are building a new 'clean coal' hybrid energy power plant while the rest of the world is reinventing the wheel. It's a sad statement, but true. We need to catch up with India, Denmark, Spain... Using fossil fuel is like beating a dead dinosaur. http://www.wisecountyissues.com See the prosperity in Appalachia - Third World America...

[silverweb]

3. Wonderful news!

Every successful pilot project encourages more.