Monday, April 23- Local/State/National Affairs

Monday, April 23

Environmentalists and economics groups are coming together in New York City to save energy and money. Perhaps the dirty East River has something to offer New Yorkers. The state is "teaming up with a Virginia company to use the East River for a unique experiment in renewable energy: Six giant turbines are being placed underwater in a $7 million project to harness the energy of the tides and produce electricity." These windmill turbines are 16 feet in diameter, and the one that is placed in the river currently is providing power a grocery store and a garage. Environmentalists are looking for a way to use moving water as a source of power. This is cost effective, as hydroelectric and wind power can be costly, since they required other equipment. The only other equipment these turbines are using are sonar equipment to monitor the fish and their actions around the turbine to make sure they are not being harmed. This project is going to take place over the course of 8 months. The downside of these turbines is that since the river sometimes changes pace and moves slowly, so the turbine only rotates enough to generate power about 77% of the time. If this works, people could save money on paying for gas and oil, and rely on the turbine some of the time to cut down on cost. Environmentalists are thinking even bigger- if this is successful, people in countries who are not fortunate enough to have electricity do have running water, and this may be an option for them. Perhaps this will go as planned, and it will catch on around the world. Not only will it cut down on greenhouse gases, but it will be very cost effective as well.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/business/ci_5666056