Verdant Power was established in 2000 and is based in New York City. Verdant Power designs, builds, and operates underwater turbines that generate renewable energy from the currents of oceans, rivers, and manmade channels.

Initiated in 2002, Verdant Power’s Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project is being operated in New York City’s East River [Site Map]. In three phases, the RITE Project will test, demonstrate and deliver commercial electricity from Verdant Power’s Free Flow Kinetic Hydropower System.[1]

RITE Project Phases:
Phase 1 (2002 – 2006): Prototype Testing
Phase 2 (2006 – 2008): Demonstration
Phase 3 (2009 – 2012): MW-Scale Build-Out

Phase 2 Demonstration Completed
Started in 2006, Verdant Power completed Phase 2 by succesfully installing six tidal turbines over the course of two years.  The RITE Project demonstration system stands as the world’s first grid-connected array of tidal turbines.

Phase 3 Build-Out
As of 2010, preparations for the RITE Phase 3 Build-out are now underway, beginning with Verdant Power’s application for a pilot license to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in November of 2008. If granted, this license would allow Verdant Power to build out the RITE Project in the east channel of the East River to a 1 MW, 30-turbine Free Flow System, and to commercially deliver the energy generated by the field to local customers. Plans are also underway to expand the project into the west channel of the East River for an additional 2-4 MW of capacity.

Other Resources
(o) This article from "Urban Omnibus" includes an informative hydropower slide show focusing on tidal power in the New York City context.