The Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy project (RITE) is a tidal power project that is currently being worked on, right here in New York City by Verdant Power. Verdant Power plans to install an array of 30 underwater turbines in the east channel of the East River, right in between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island.
Images of the turbines that will be placed in the East River.
When completed, the RITE Project will deliver 10 MW of power to about 10,000 people in Manhattan. 10 MW of power is by no means a large amount (the U.S. produces about 1150 GW of power a year) but there is great significance behind this project. It is the first federally approved project of its kind. The RITE Project can also help improve tidal power’s technology, paving the way for future tidal power projects in the United States and even the world.
From 2006-2009, Verdant Power placed 6 of these underwater turbines in the East River as a demonstration in order to gain a license to place more in the river. This pilot project delivered 70 MWh of energy over 9000 hours of operation, which had no power quality problems. The turbines effectively generated power during both ebb and flood tides. Possibly the most important result from this pilot project was the the turbines had minimal effect on the environment, showing no irregular activities of fish or birds in the area. Verdant Power did a stufy on the possible effects of the turbines on the environment, and they found that there was less than a thousandth of a percent chance of any of the endangered fish species in the area to come into contact with the turbines.
A picture taken from one of the underwater turbines showing a school of fish. This shows the fish activities were not affected by the presence of the turbines.
