Can ocean energy technologies be used in fresh water like lakes or rivers?
Yes, and the potential for using non-impounded hydrokinetic resources is tremendous. I emphasize the terms non-impounded and hydrokinetic for two reasons. The first is that non-impounded resources means that you don’t have to dam a river to capture the power from free flowing water. Secondly, when using hydrokinetic devices to capture energy, understanding the physics and the environment is important. The U.S. wind power industry learned that when their wind turbines moved fast they would kill birds. By slowing the blades down using the equivalent of gear systems they found they could extract the energy from the wind, and not have the impact on birds. There were also advances in the design of the poles that hold the wind turbines that helped protect the environment. Moreover, fresh water power resources are abundant. A 2004 U.S. Dept. of Energy Study showed that states like Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, and many others are high on the list of having substantial available free flowing freshwat
