Renewable power quest turns towards the Mississippi River

Jul 18, 2011

The quest for renewable power is taking another turn in the American South — a turn towards the Mississippi River.

Rather than investing in the construction of dams, investors are looking towards a process called “hydrokinetics” — where moving water is used to generate power without the use of dams. Recent technological developments over the years have brought new life to this hydro-energy plan. This option, if implemented properly, will serve to control the cost of energy conversion.

Current ideas to approach this new technology include placing turbines on river bottoms and barges, as one of the largest barriers to making use of this type of energy has now been overcome through technology that allows generators to absorb variations in water speed.

While questions regarding the amount of energy that may be produced by this technology still remain, but many are hopeful that the technology will emerge from its infancy as a front-runner as a low-cost, environmentally-friendly means towards powering the country.

One of the goals outlined within the Center’s Agenda for a Better South is for each Southern state to develop a state energy plan that improves per capita energy efficiency by 20 percent in 2020. The implementation of hydrokinetic energy is definitely an excellent steps towards this goal.

Quest for Renewable Power Turns Back to Water