Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Work in the United States
The United States has several programs to help develop new
sources of water power. In 2007, the government created
the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy within
the Department of Energy to pay for research and fund
projects involving water power and other forms of renewable
energy. The country also has a National Renewable Energy
Laboratory
. This lab works on projects for water power and
other kinds of renewable energy.
The U.S. government sometimes pays companies to set
up water power systems. In one recent project, the U.S.
Navy—working with a private company—installed buoys near
a U.S. Navy base in Hawaii. The buoys convert wave energy to
electricity, which is carried by underwater cables to the land.
If the project is successful, the Navy hopes to use wave energy
to provide power for its bases around the world. In Maine, the
Coast Guard is installing equipment to generate electricity using
tidal power at one of its stations. If this project is successful,
tidal power could also be used at Coast Guard stations in
Alaska and Washington. The U.S. Navy also hopes to use ocean
thermal energy conversion. OTEC systems could be used in
Hawaii, where the waters are warm.
Despite these projects, the building of water power projects
may slow somewhat. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama
called for cutting the amount of money the government spent
on tidal and wave energy. Instead, he wanted more money to
be spent for other forms of renewable energy, such as wind
power and solar power. Even with the cuts, though, President
Obama was ready to spend more on water power than past
presidents had.
