RI to Harness Wave Energy

Energetech America, LLC has announced plans for “GreenWave Rhode Island,” America’s first wave-energy project. The 500 kilowatt project will tap the power of an “oscillating water column” to force compressed air through a turbine. An existing undersea cable will then transmit the power to the New England electrical grid. The structure will be built in Rhode Island and secured to the ocean floor more than a mile off the state’s coast, where it will rise 40 feet above the water. The $3.5 million nonprofit pilot project received $1 million in planning and development support from the renewable energy funds of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut and is intended to demonstrate the economic viability of wave-energy technology. If the plan gains the necessary state and federal permits, GreenWave Rhode Island should be operational in 2006. Details are at www.energetech.com.au.