April 13, 2005, 11:37 PM EDT
A Virginia company won federal permission Wednesday to install six underwater turbines in the East River in a $3.5 million experiment to generate electricity from tides.
The company, Verdant Power Llc, based in Arlington, eventually hopes to install as many as 300 turbines on the river bottom next to Roosevelt Island in a field a mile long and 270 feet wide.
It would be the first of its kind in the nation and generate electricity for about 8,000 homes.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave the privately held company permission for the six turbines without the lengthy approval process normally required for such facilities.
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-east0414,0,442781.story?coll=nyc-moreny-headlinesLet's hope this works. Sounds like a great idea.