Ramona Adams
Oceana Energy Company and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division have collaborated to develop and test a hydrokinetic device intended to supply power in coastal communities.
The U.S. Navy said Tuesday Carderock and Oceana produced the in-stream hydrokinetic device that works to gather ocean currents, tides or river flows as part of a cooperative research-and-development agreement signed in 2006.
The device was tested in remote communities in Alaska where energy is five to 10 percent more expensive than grid-connected locations, the Navy added.
Oceana found during a study that Alaska has the potential to lead hydrokinetic power generation in U.S. since the state accounts for approximately 40 percent of total river energy, 90 percent of total tidal energy and 60 percent of total wave energy in the country.
Carderock provided its David Taylor Model Basin tow tank to test the device’s turbine under the first phase of the CRADA effort.
Oceana’s device worked to generate approximately 8,150 watts of power during the three-day test, the Navy said.
