Going with the flow

While solar and wind get the glamour in alternative energy, the US Department of Energy isn’t neglecting the power of water.

It’s investing $10.5 million in projects that will refine technologies able to make electricity from ocean currents, tidal swells and the flow of rivers. Meanwhile, the Ocean Renewable Power Company has connected its water-power generator in Alaska’s Kvichak River to the electric grid for the village of Igiugig, displacing costly, dirty diesel fuel that the village used to rely on. And Verdant Power is poised to begin its test of a fleet of underwater power turbines (think of a torpedo with a giant propeller on the end and set on a pedestal) in New York’s East River.

TRENDPOST: The growing catalog of alternative energy technologies will enable users – from towns to factories to homes – to choose the form of clean and/or renewable power best suited to its individual location. These technologies are hastening the demise of centralized electricity generation and distribution. 

Ben Daviss