Oceana is developing a durable tidal power generation technology that we consider to be a vast improvement over all other tidal technologies in the public domain, in terms of manufacturability, ease of operation and cost. In 2006, we entered into a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Navy to utilize its Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division’s engineering facilities and expertise to develop and test Oceana’s Tidal Defense and Energy System (TIDES)™ power generation platform. This arrangement with the U.S. Navy is continuing and will extend through to the completion of the design and delivery of at least one large-scale beta demonstration device.
Likened to an underwater windmill, Oceana's technology operates on principles far different from that of windmills and marine energy systems that resemble windmills. Oceana's system is innovative in that its design incorporates features to enhance power production through substantive improvements to existing tidal and marine current systems being developed today. The system was designed with a clear focus on advancing the following goals:
Minimizing Environmental Impacts
Reducing Construction, Installation and Operation Costs
Improving Energy Extraction Efficiencies
Increasing Upward Scalability
Important features of TIDES™ are its free-scaling range of motion and the infinite options for manipulating the size and shape of its hydro blades to vary the ratio of freely flowing water-to-water contact over its blade surfaces. Thus, designers and manufacturers can build our devices much larger than propeller-based units and in more optimal configurations than shaftless technologies that are limited to the geometry of a circle. This ability opens up many possibilities in environments unsuitable for, or only partially suitable for, other tidal technologies. Furthermore, an existing industry is equipped to manufacture, transport and fabricate almost every component of this new energy system.
While we believe there are many benefits of this design over existing forms of power production and competitive emerging technologies, Oceana remains committed to incorporating a "technology neutral" approach in its environmental and economic site analyses. Therefore, we encourage all other tidal energy technology developers to participate in the device evaluation phases of our site feasibility studies.
