Harnessing The Great Niagara... Again!
"Something very cool that might be located in a river near us in the future."
As Secretary of State, Chris Jacobs has been working with our division of Coastal Resources, which administers several grant programs pertaining to our waterfronts and waterways. Recently he and others were able to give two grants to Buffalo - one for the Buffalo River and the other for the Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse project. Through this division Chris has had the opportunity to go around the state to see other great projects that activists are doing to revitalize their waterfronts - like Buffalo is doing.
I spoke with Chris this afternoon after he forwarded us an email this morning to notify BRO readers of recent research into a potentially new power source for the Niagara River. "I was able to see one of the most exciting developments which I believe will come to the Niagara River sometime soon," his email read. "This is the water version of windmills. Hydropower technology has come a long way from the days of just damming rivers. Now, the technology is in place to site watermills in streams and rivers that are environmentally friendly and generate substantial amounts of power."
Chris mentioned that ongoing research has been conducted in regards to the Niagara River since at least the '80s. Now that technology has advanced a great deal and there is even more of an effort to get these turbines underway. The Niagara River is in constant motion and these turbines are relatively unobtrusive. Chris remarked that there had been an idea at one point to install wind turbines on the Peace Bridge. These types of ideas have been floating around for a while, but the turbines can operate without interupting views, creating noise, etc. They can be places sporadically so as not to clog any section of the river. Tests underway to see how the turbines would affect the fish habitats, though initial findings show that the aquatic life (as well as debris) gets shuttled around the turbine instead of through it. Verdant Power, a private company, has obtained some monies from NYSERDA for ongoing, environmentally-friendly, power-source research.
Chris continued his email with, "Recently I went to New York City to see where the cutting edge company, Verdant Power, has developed this new watermill technology - it is in the process of implementing a demonstration project on the East River by Roosevelt Island. The company is sinking five of these watermills, and will be conducting an environmental assessment of their impact on fish and the water environment. While they are in place they will be generating the electricity for a grocery store on Roosevelt Island."
As Chris learned more about the potential impact, he became even more excited about the possibility that our region might share in the environmentally friendly spoils. "When I met with them I inquired, "What about the Niagara River... it's a lot faster the East River!" They told me they would be very interested after this year's project is concluded. Furthermore they referenced a study they found commissioned by the New York Power Authority in the mid-1980s that looked into the ideal areas to site such turbines in the upper and lower Niagara. Wouldn't it be great of Erie/Niagara became a center for wind and water energy... City of Light all over again!"
Well, we ARE still a center for water power, but a State authority takes it all & leaves us with the 2nd highest electric rates in the contiguous States. How would more water power be different ?
The current is perfect for this by the peace bridge. I think this might not work in the lower niagara due to the depth. Who knows.
fantastic idea, all of these efforts add up. There is nonpolluting energy everywhere, it just takes a creative mind to harness it.
Too bad we lost local control over the Niagara Falls Powerplant, Imagine having all of that cheap sustainable power to boost the region. We could have been the only region in North American completely powered by sustainable and cheap energy.
Instead we have coal plants in our backyard as we are forced to export our cheap energy downstate. But at least one of them is going to be "cleaner." I am glad to see that development happen. Hopefully the next generation won't be so troubled with asthma and other respiratory ailments as this one had.
I wonder how large or a region could be powered by the Niagara Power Project? Erie and Niagara Counties for sure, What about Rochester and their suburban areas. Do you think it all could be powered by the falls? I don't doubt it, they generate a ton of energy.
Look to the trucks & autos on the Peace Bridge and Thruways for the cause of respiratory ailments in Buffalo, not the single coal-burning plant up in Tonawanda.
amazed no one ever thought of this before!
A couple of questions come to my mind: Would these turbines be deep enough so as not to be hit by boats and their propellers ? (I have no idea how deep the Niagara River is). If it takes five turbines to light one grocery store, however many would it take to provide power for a neighbourhood or for even a city ?
It may not be the sole cause but I guarantee it helped push some thousands of kids over the edge. I whole heartedly agree that the thruways are just as bad, near or far from the Peace Bridge. I grew up on the East Side, not near any thruway, my two younger brothers grew up literally next to the 190, both of them almost died on numerous occasions because of asthma and respiratory problems.
Anything to pull pollutants and particulate matter out of the air is a good thing for People and the Environment. Watermills, even if they pulled just a small percent of the power from the coal stations would help.
the worst part about exporting our power is that there's a power loss due to transportation. So for example, we send 10,000 Kw to long island, there's 30 % lost in the wires from here to LI. If it stayed here, the power loss would be much lower.
These water turbines sound good
Hay QE, Did the guy get the idea from our BRO story on this last spring?
http://www.buffalorising.com/city/archives/2006/04/free_power_for_buffalo.php
This is a creative way to make the tough climate here work to our advantage - what place has more wind than Buffalo?
Unless the turbines are owned by a local municipality or the county, I don't see any reason to get excited. As EV Resident points out, the Niagara Power Project is just up the road yet NY has 2nd highest electric rates due to the Niagara Power Project subsidizing downstate power projects or the NY MTA (thru cheap power). Keep it locally owned so that we can benefit locally.
BuffaloRox is spot on: the reason we benefit only somewhat by Niagara Falls is that the feds put up the money in exchange for the lion's share of electricity.
We need to fund this locally.
Create a binational, local commission composed of and controlled by municipalities bordering the river. Ensure that the benefits of the power generation acrue to the owners (local municipalities). The municipalities would be shareholders in the project in proportion to their financial contribution to its construction. Fund it 100% from local municipalities and get full benefits of ownership in return.
Exciting project.
i am all for putting niagra to greater use. They could start to invest in hydrogen tech on the us side. canada has been producing it for years. great way to balance energy loss.
these things seem like they would be expensive to up keep. Yeah i agree with the lack of trust with a new objective.