Tidal Power New York

From GreenPacks
by Martin

New York is one of the most glittering places in the United States, not just for its opulence, but for the glowing lights as well. What is hurting though is the large chunk of energy consumed on a daily basis to power those lights. With the judicious use of energy becoming a priority to help cool the earth it is mandatory to think of greener solutions in the Big Apple.



One such idea is the use of the tidal waters proposed by Richard Garber and Brain Novello in a project designed for the Metropolis magazine 2009 Next Generation Design Competition.

These two plan to power the street lamps using tidal power. The first requirement would be to create docking systems using modular and floating docks. These docks will use three vertical turbines to harness energy from the moving river currents, eventually producing electricity.

The power generated will then be used to lighten a network of LED lamps across the streets. Each of these modules on the docking station will be capable of producing 24 kilowatts of power from a 4 mph current moving in any direction.





The docks would also feature green spaces and tidal pools to support wildlife. The project concept did not win the competition but it is still an effective backup for the already in place tidal power stations.