New Docks in New York’s Rivers to Be Energy Generators

A student-professor team in New York has just announced designs for a network of offshore docks which would collect clean energy for New York City.

The environmentally friendly platforms would yield energy by utilising tidal power from the many rivers that flow nearby the city.  They are also designed to become green ‘oases’ on the city’s dirty rivers.

The platform energy stations will attach directly to piers already scattered along the riverbanks of New York.  The stations will start out as small test docks and hopefully be expanded to help increase energy yield.  If extended the docks would become small green islands accessible to the public as ‘green space’ and house tidal pools for local wildlife.

The research team hopes that the docks would stand out as beacons for the importance of sustainable energy research.

The designers are estimating that energy generated by the docks would potentially be enough to light every street in New York City.  Each dock would house three turbines which would generate about 24KW of consistent energy which would be enough to power 350 LED streetlamps per platform. Currently the project only has plans to build one test dock, however if successful, the designers envision docks running up and down New York’s riverbanks.

An additional bonus to the energy docks would be extended recreational space as the flat top of each dock would resemble a mini park.