Friday, October 23, 2009

A plan to test an underwater turbine that will convert tidal currents in the Bahia Honda Channel into electricity has cleared its penultimate hurdle.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last week finalized an environmental assessment and issued a ruling that the prototype of a hydropower turbine will have no significant environmental impact on fish, turtles, coral and other sea life in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and nearshore waters.

The ruling gives the sanctuary the green light to issue a permit to the Key West-based Keys Hydro Power to test a 1-meter turbine for 60 days in the channel off Bahia Honda State Park. A draft of the permit, expected to be finalized within the coming weeks, is under review by staff from the sanctuary and NOAA's Office of General Counsel for Ocean Services, sanctuary spokeswoman Karrie Carnes said.

The permit will contain a series of special conditions, including preconstruction meetings and biological monitoring plans, Carnes said.

"This (test of a hydropower turbine) will support research in alternative energy technologies, which may lead to tools to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and therefore decrease impacts to coral reefs associated with greenhouse gas emissions," sanctuary Superintendent Sean Morton said. "[Keys Hydro Power] satisfied NOAA's concerns about impacts to the marine resources by limiting the testing to 60 days and ensuring all material will be promptly removed at the end of the test."

Keys Hydro Power plans to have Florida Keys Community College's dive and marine sciences program conduct the biological monitoring for the roughly $1 million project. The turbine will be fitted with a cage over the rotors to keep turtles and other sea creatures from being snared and killed.

The turbine, which will be connected to a boat in the channel, will not be placed in the channel until after the 2010 hurricane season, said Keys Hydro Power founder Douglas Bedgood. It has been designed and will be built by Stock Island-based high-end trimaran sailboat designer Walter Schurtenberger, who has specialized in hydrodynamic racing vessels.

Keys Hydro Power is a nonprofit founded two years ago to research the viability of hydroelectric projects. It is working with Florida International University and other institutions to harness ocean currents and convert the energy into commercial power.

Bedgood also has formed an offshoot for-profit company called Tidal Energy, which will set up business contracts with companies and private and public utilities that want to purchase energy or the technology. Bedgood and his partners have been talking with several investors, but the economic downturn has stymied investment.

A rebounding stock market is freeing up some money, however.

"The whole financial collapse put the project on hold for an 18-month hiatus," said Robin Smith-Martin, chief financial officer of Tidal Energy. "The green chutes are back."

Bedgood and Smith-Martin are in discussions with a company that has contracts to provide green electricity for several countries in Central and South America, Smith-Martin said.

tohara@keysnews.com