The best way to reach Verdant Power about a new potential site or project is to complete the online questionnaire we have posted in the Water Resource Assessment section.

Please Note: In order for a site to be cost-effective, its waters must have currents of at least 2 meters per second (6 ft/sec, 4 knots), AND its depth should be at least 9 meters (30 ft.)

We are currently in the process of optimizing our technology for commercial distribution and thus do not have products available for new projects or commercial sales at this time.

Please continue to visit our website for updated information on product availability.

No, Verdant Power is currently a privately held company.

The best way to reach Verdant Power about a new potential site or project is to complete the online questionnaire we have posted in the Water Resource Assessment section.

Please note: In order for a site to be cost-effective, its waters must have currents of at least 2 meters per second (6 ft/sec, 4 knots), AND its depth should be at least 4 meters (13 ft.)

Kinetic hydropower is dam-less hydropower that is converted from energy found in the flowing water currents of oceans, tides, rivers and manmade channels or conduits.

Kinetic Hydropower Systems: Verdant Power’s signature technology is the Kinetic Hydropower System (KHPS), a complete renewable energy solution that captures and connects energy from natural flowing waters to the power grid or directly to end users. This patented “water-to-wire” system is a breakthrough in the renewable energy industry with worldwide applicability. More »

KHPS Turbine: A central component of the KHPS is the KHPS Turbine, which is a “free flow” technology designed to convert energy from natural flowing water currents, such as oceans, tides, and rivers. KHPS turbines are submerged completely underwater in small or large numbers and do not require any dams, impoundments or other major civil works. More »

Click Here to view a schematic drawing of a KHPS turbine.

Click Here to view a computer rendering of a KHPS field operating underwater.

They are comprehensive. The KHPS is a “water to wire” system, meaning that the technology can be used to take a project from start to finish–from natural flowing water to grid-connected power.

They are cost effective. The systems are modular in design and can be tailored specifically to the maximize the characterstics of a particular site and produce the most cost-effective power.

They are simple. The KHPS was developed with an imperative for simplicity and ruggedness, decreasing capital, operations and maintenance costs; and enhancing the technology’s commerical viability. Additionally, KHPS do not require any dams, impoundments or other major civil works, making them safe for fish passage, causing minimal public impact, and enhancing their applicability across the globe, especially in developing countries.

Specific benefits of the KHPS Turbine are that they…

• Consume no fossil fuels and emit no greenhouse gases;
• Have high capacity factors (ranging from 30 to 90 percent) and capacity values,
  because of the predictability and reliability of tidal currents and river flows;
• Will have competitive installation cost/ kW ($2,000-$2,500)
• Produce power near point of consumption, using indigenous clean resources
• Ultimately will facilitate compliance with Renewable Portfolio Standards;
  In addition to energy production, can provide other ancillary community-based services such as reverse osmosis systems for desalinization and potable water; pumping for irrigation and oxygenation of anoxic waters; and electrolysis for hydrogen production.

Many factors determine the potential power output of the KHPS, including site characteristics and size and number of turbines installed. The basic physics of free-flow technologies is very similar to wind. That is, it’s the “sweep of the blade and the speed of the current.”

For example, the site of Verdant Power’s RITE Project is the East Channel of the East River, which has average water depths of 30 feet and tidal currents of approximately 2 meters per second. Consequently, the KHPS turbine’s height is 19.7 feet (6 m). Its length is 5.8 feet (4.8 m). It is equipped with a rotor that is 16.4 feet (5 m) in diameter and a generator that is rated at 35 kW. In deeper and faster waters, larger diameter rotors and bigger generators can be used.

Generation data from this single RITE Project turbine showed that the unit had an average power output during tidal generation periods of 14.5 kilowatts (kW) and generated power to the grid 77 per cent of the time (RITE is a tidal power project). This equates to an average energy production of 270 kilowatt hours (kWh)/day, 8.1 megawatt hours (MWh)/month, or 97 MWh/year.

Based on this average energy production, this single tidal turbine is generating enough energy for 16 average New York State residences. Ultimately, Verdant Power hopes to install 200-300 similar turbines at the RITE Project site.

A KHPS can work as a “stand alone” system for remote locations, or incorporate large fields to create “base power” systems for dispatched power through transmission and distribution grids.

The 5m version of KHPS turbine installed in the East River’s RITE Project has a peak rotation rate of 32 revolutions per minute (rpm). This is a slow rate, especially when compared to conventional hydropower turbines, which can turn at rates of up to 600 – 700 rpm.

While a slow rotor rotational rate, a separation ranging from 40 to 100 feet, and other anecdotal information suggest that the KHPS turbines will not harm aquatic life, Verdant Power will conduct the environmental analyses necessary to further address this key issue through its RITE Project, from December 2006 to April 2008. More »

The RITE Project will be marked by permanent navigation aids and will be boomed off to recreational activities, even though the tip of the underwater rotor, during mean low tide, will be 5 to 7 feet below the surface of the river. This boomed-off area will take up less than a third of the East Channel. Deep draft vessels will use the West Channel, as they currently are doing.

The turbines are designed to be installed and then operate unattended. The target service period is 2 years, with an overhaul at 10 years. On-site service involves only a switch-out (remove and replace) operation.

Depending on the number and size of the turbines in an array, the units may be serviced on a regular schedule or on a demand basis. A large array can justify the cost of a dedicated regular servicing operation. For smaller arrays, remote generator performance monitoring can give notice of a turbine failure or advance notice of an incipient failure.

Free Flow turbines are designed to be installed and then operate unattended. The target service period is 2 years, with an overhaul at 10 years. On-site service involves only a switch-out (remove and replace) operation.

Depending on the number and size of turbines in an array, the units may be serviced on a regular schedule or on a demand basis. A large array can justify the cost of a dedicated regular servicing operation. For smaller arrays, remote generator performance monitoring can give notice of a turbine failure or advance notice of an incipient failure.

The World Energy Council estimates that there is nearly 2.5 million megawatts of technically feasible and economically viable undeveloped hydropower potential in the world. Verdant Power believes that at least 10 percent of that potential, or 250,000 megawatts, can be developed with kinetic hydropower technologies.

investment@verdantpower.com