CLIMATEWIRE | The next frontier for renewable energy may be found in underwater currents.
The Department of Energy is looking to tap that resource through its funding of 11 projects designed to harness the power of moving water in rivers and ocean tidal currents.
The long-term goal is to have sources of renewable energy that can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Mario Garcia-Sanz, the program’s director.
“That puts this technology in a very good position with other renewables,” he said in an interview.
One reason, he explained, is the constraints on other forms of clean energy. The unavailability of solar power happens nightly. Wind power is irregular and can be destructive in storms. But the movement of underwater currents is relatively steady, dependable and predictable.
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