Two Tidal Projects Gain Speed in Energy Development Race

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http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49249

While the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm continues to grab headlines and attract political attention, two underwater tidal energy projects that flank either side of Vineyard are quietly progressing.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) within the last few weeks granted a preliminary permit for an underwater hydroelectric project off the north shore of the Island in Vineyard Sound, and also formally accepted a new application for a tidal energy project in Muskeget Channel between Chappaquiddick and Nantucket.

The two projects, which are still in the early stages of exploration, are proposed by separate private development companies. Little detail is available for either project at this time, and both developers admit they are still not sure whether their proposals will prove economically feasible.

But with a growing public concern about climate change and rising electric demand in New England, the waters off the Vineyard have emerged as a prime site in the gold rush for emerging renewable energy technologies. If they are built, the tidal energy proposals and the Cape Wind project would offset production from the oil and natural gas-fired power plant in Sandwich, which currently supplies nearly all of the electricity consumed on the Cape and Islands.

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