A Lower Keys research group is one step closer to begin testing an underwater turbine the group hopes will convert ocean currents into a viable source of power. The group also has recently partnered with Florida International University in an effort to receive federal grant money for the project.

Keys Hydro Power late last month received a state Department of Environmental Protection permit to test a Fiberglas composite underwater turbine in the channel off the old Bahia Honda Bridge, said group founder Douglas Bedgood.

Before it can drop the turbines in the water, Keys Hydro Power still needs permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The group is working with sanctuary officials on a plan to monitor the equipment to make sure endangered sea turtles and other marine life don't get caught in the turbine's propellers.

Keys Hydro Power has been asked to install rigid, cage-like mesh near the front and back of the turbine to keep the marine life from being snagged in the rotors. The excluder will keep out anything larger than 4 inches wide. Anything smaller can pass through unharmed, Bedgood said.

The group also is working with Florida International University to obtain federal money President Barack Obama has set aside for alternative energy projects. During a speech last week, Obama stressed the importance of investing in alternative and renewable sources of energy and pledged to make investing in the research part of the economic stimulus package.

Obama has set aside $10 billion for alternative energy projects, said Kuang-Hsi Wu, a professor at the university's Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department.

"I think it is great idea. I don't know what the outcome will be, but it is definitely something we need to explore," said Wu, who became involved in the project after reading about it in a newspaper. "There is a vast amount of renewable energy out there. The problem is how to tap into every source. The ocean could be an important source of energy."

Keys Hydro Power plans to test one turbine in the Bahia Honda Channel for 60 days to determine whether it can efficiently harness power from the ocean. The turbine would yield energy by having the currents pushing the rotors. Keys Hydro Power has been working with several Florida engineering firms on designs for the underwater turbine that would be placed a half-mile south of the bridge. If the test is successful, the group wants to place more turbines, or farms of turbines, off the Florida coast.

The prototype, which has been designed but not built, should take about a year to build, Bedgood has said.

tohara@keysnews.com