I think of Lincoln's remark after the Civil War Victory at Vicksburg, (now a likely hydrokinetic turbine site). "And the waters rolled unvexed to the sea.."
I'm fascinated by the potential of hydrokinetics as one of the core solutions for moving past the Oil Era. I particularly like how the application does away with a need for more dams given what we have learned about dam downsides over the years.
Free Flow Power Corporation in Gloucester MA is one of the emerging leaders in this exciting field.
It was founded to produce cheap, clean, reliable, renewable energy from moving water without building dams.
Here are their basic design parameters.
Our FFP Turbine Generator is designed to produce electricity
- at a cost that competes with conventional forms of generation,
- without building new dams or diversions,
- without disrupting the aquatic or marine environment,
- without interfering with recreational and navigational uses of water resources, and
- without being seen above the surface of the water.
There are many optimum areas in New England such as the Great Bay in New Hampshire, the Merrimac Mouth, the major river outlets of Maine or the Cobscook Bay area.
"The company, Free Flow Power Corp., is pursuing a $3 billion plan to install thousands of small electric turbines in the river bed, reaching from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico that would collectively generate 1,600 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 1.5 million homes."
What's not to like about using water motion without the hazards and wreckage that often attends Dam construction. Somewhere, the ghosts of John Muir and John Wesley Powell can look on and be proud to see us finally figure it out.
