Friday, July 24, 2009

More on hydrokinetic power


The Courier-Journal of Louisville has an article on hydrokinetic development possibilities on the Ohio River. As noted a while back on this blog, McGinnis Inc. of South Point OH is looking into the feasibility of placing barges with generating turbines in the Ohio and Kanawha rivers.

Two things hit me early on in the article:

The barges, with submerged turbines, would each generate relatively little electricity — enough to power about 260 typical homes.

But as Congress moves closer to requiring utilities to get electricity from renewable sources like water and wind, entrepreneurs think small-scale projects will add up to fill the demand.

and

“It fits into the grand scheme of things, with going green,” said Bruce D. McGinnis Sr., president of the Ohio company. He said there's a chance to make money not only from the sale of electricity, but from the sale of renewable energy credits that could be created by federal climate change legislation.