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 News
Tacoma Power
released the second study on tidal power feasibility in the Tacoma
Narrows waterway.
Download the study. (This is a 12MB PDF document that may take a few
minutes to open.)
Tacoma
Power officially began looking into generating power from the tidal
currents in the Tacoma Narrows when it submitted its application for a
preliminary permit to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in
September of 2005. On February 22, 2006, FERC granted Tacoma Power the
first permit (P-12612) to study tidal power generation in Puget Sound.
Tacoma Power is now actively exploring the possibility of harnessing the
power of the tidal currents. Copies of the preliminary permit and copies
of all semi-annual updates can be found on FERC’s Web site
www.ferc.gov.
In addition to
updates filed with FERC, updates on the project will be placed on this
Web site which will include links to other general information on tidal
power. If you have questions about the project, you can contact us at
tidalproject@cityoftacoma.org.
August
9, 2007 Tidal Update
Background
While applying for the preliminary permit, Tacoma Power developed a
four-phase approach to conduct the studies necessary to reach the goal
designing and building a commercial tidal generation plant:
- Phase I —
Concept-Level Feasibility Study
- Phase II
— Site-Specific Feasibility Study
- Phase III
— Pilot Installation Study
- Phase IV
— Design
and Construction of a Commercial Tidal Generation Plant
 Phase I, the concept-level feasibility study, was completed in June 2006.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
led the study. EPRI concluded that the
Tacoma Narrows showed promise as a site for tidal power generation.
Find the
full report
at the EPRI Web site
under the Tidal Energy Reports link.
With the positive
findings of the EPRI report, Tacoma Power began to plan the second phase
of the project with a request for proposals.
Tacoma Power received four responses to its request and chose
Puget
Sound Tidal Power LLC to lead the second phase of the project.
Phase II work began
in March 2007. During phase II, Puget Sound Tidal Power will gather and
analyzethe available historical data
about tidal currents and seabed
details of the Tacoma Narrows. This analysis will be used to identify
specific locations in the Narrows where actual measurements of the tidal
currents will be made. These measurements will be made using acoustic
Doppler current profilers
for specific information about the velocity of the tidal currents
in the Narrows. These devices
were used while planning the construction of
the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
 The current velocity
data will be used to calculate how much electricity can be generated
from the currents in the Narrows. If the tidal currents are favorable,
Tacoma Power will begin to analyze the economics of and construction
costs for a tidal generation plant, and will
research the permits required for both a pilot installation and a
commercial generation plant.
In researching and
determining the required permitting, Tacoma Power expects to work very
closely with the various Washington state agencies, local governments,
Native American tribal representatives and other concerned
non-governmental organizations. With the help of these groups, we
hope to create a plan for constructing and studying a pilot
installation, which is the third phase of the project. Because tidal
power generation is such a new technology, a pilot installation likely
will be necessary to ensure that the full impacts of tidal turbines on
the Puget Sound ecosystem are understood. At this time, no data yet
exists showing how Puget Sound wildlife will react to or be affected by
tidal turbines. Other concerns that will be answered by the pilot
installation are:
- Will a tidal generation plant cause
low oxygen levels downstream?
- Will tidal turbines affect the
seabed?
- Will the turbines be subject to
damage from submerged deadfalls?
- Will the installed turbines operate
as expected?
Many other questions
will also be posed and answered while studying the pilot installation.
It is believed that only by building and studying a pilot installation
can Tacoma Power be certain a commercial tidal generation plant will not
damage the Puget Sound.
Once Tacoma Power
has completed all of these tests and it has been shown that there are no
detrimental effects from tidal generation, we will begin planning and
designing a commercial tidal generation plant. The commercial plant is
the fourth and final phase. If Phase IV is reached, Tacoma Power could
become one of the first utilities to use this
renewable energy source that is 100 percent predictable
and does not emit greenhouse gases.
If you have
questions, please
contact
us. |
