TIDAL POWER-MOVING AHEAD - Energy Research Developments: Tidal Energy, Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy - page 100

Moreover, following test with a prototype, the UEK Corporation, based in Annopolis, has
plans for a 10MW project at the mouth of the river Delaware, using a series of its two-way
45kW Underwater Electric Kite ducted turbines.
Although the Gulf stream is not the result of lunar gravitational forces, but rather is part
of the conveyor system of planetary ocean currents, driven ultimately by solar heat, there is
certainly a lot of energy there, and it has been see as an key resource that could be tapped by
turbines. Florida Atlantic University has received $5m to establish The Florida Center of
Excellence in Ocean Energy, which will focus on South Florida's ocean currents, specifically
the Gulf Stream. Several ideas have already emerged in this field. Dr Alexander Gorlov has
been developing a novel helical vertical-axis turbine device for use with ocean currents,
including the Gulf stream, and Florida Hydro Power and Light, aided by the US Navy, have
been developing an 'open center' turbine design.
Further out in the Atlantic, an undersea rotor design has been developed by the Bermuda
Electric Light Company and Bermuda Current to Current Ltd, who are planning to install a
US built 20MW unit.
On the US West coast, Pacific Gas & Electric Company has signed an agreement with the
City and the County of San Francisco, as well as Golden Gate Energy Company, to assess
possibilities for harnessing the tides in San Francisco Bay. UK developer Hydro Venturi has
also been looking at the possibility of using its innovative venturi turbine device in that
location.
Canada has been involved with tidal barrage power for many years, as noted above, and
it is now looking to tidal current systems. The pioneering Canadian company Blue Energy has
been testing a vertical axis tidal turbine and has plans for very large 'tidal fence' arrays around
the world, with turbines mounted in a series of modules forming a causeway. In parallel, a
new-comer, Clean Current Power, has a ducted rotor system that sits on the sea bed.
A major focus for many Canadian and overseas projects is the Bay of Fundy, which has
a very large tidal range. It is to be the location for test with the Irish Open Hydro device
mentioned earlier, in conjunction with Nova Scotia Power (NSP), who already have a 20 MW
tidal barrage there. If all goes well with the tests, NSP are hoping to install up to 300 tidal
turbines in the area, with a total capacity of 300MW. In addition, the UK company Marine
Current Turbines Ltd (MCT) has signed an agreement with Canada's Maritime Tidal Energy
Corporation to install one of its 1.2 MW SeaGen devices in the Bay of Fundy. Clearly this
location is proving an attractive area for tidal projects: the Atlantic Tidal Energy Consortium
says it wants to install around 600MW of tidal systems in the Bay of Fundy over the next 10
years.
However there is also a significant resource on the west coast. In addition to its Bay of
Fundy project, MCT have signed a co-peration agreement with Canada's BC Tidal Energy
Corporation to deploy at least three of its SeaGen turbines in waters off Vancouver, British
Columbia. They should be installed on Vancouver Island's Campbell River by 2009. The
agreement is the first step in a plan to develop larger tidal farms off British Columbia's coast,
which the company says has a tidal potential of up to 4GW
There are also proposals for tidal schemes in the Pacific area. Neptune Power in New
Zealand is planning an array of 1 MW floating sub-sea turbines in the tidal currents off the
Cook Strait between the North and South Islands, and CREST Energy also have plans for a
major $400m 300MW project at Kaipara Harbour near Auckland.