Company Studies Making Power from Water

Vortex Hydro Energy is about Six Months into a Three-year Preliminary Permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to Study Placing a Patented Hydrokinetic Power Generating Device in the St. Clair River

A device to harvest energy from the St. Clair River — first tested in Port Huron in August 2010 — could be returning to the blue water.

Vortex Hydro Energy is about six months into a three-year preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study placing a patented hydrokinetic power generating device in the St. Clair River.

The device uses technology patented through the University of Michigan to harness the power of "vortex induced vibrations," said Michael Bernitsas, a professor of naval architecture, marine engineering and mechanical engineering at U-M.

Bernitsas invented the technology — called VIVACE, or Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy.

The devices, which contain horizontal cylinders, are placed on a river bottom.

The cylinders move up and down as vortexes in the current move past them, creating kinetic energy. The kinetic energy is harnessed by what developers call an oscylator and sent to a generator that converts it to electricity.

Bernitsas says the device is more environmentally friendly than turbines, which traditionally are used to harness hydrokinetic power from river bottoms.

Vortex Hydro Energy, a spinoff company hoping to commercialize the technology invented and patented at U-M, placed prototypes in the St. Clair River near Dunn Paper in August 2010 and September 2012.

The prototype in August 2010 was in the water for about a day and, in September 2012, the prototype remained in the water for about three months.

The company is studying the possibility of recreating the prototypes on a larger scale in the same location.

"We are in the process of designing and developing that device so we can deploy a small prototype in summer 2015 and a bigger one in summer 2016," Bernitsas said.

The 2015 and 2016 projects largely will be used to collect additional data on the viability of the project, Bernitsas said. The company's preliminary permit from FERC would be used to set up a commercial operation on the bottom of the St. Clair River.

According to 2010 Times Herald reports, the device installed near Dunn Paper in August 2010 was about 12 feet long, 12 feet wide and 12 feet tall.

According to a May 2014 FERC notice, the commercial operation for which Vortex Hydro Energy has a preliminary permit would include multiple oscylators each containing four cylinders. The oscylators would be 20 feet long, 32 feet wide and 27 feet high.

"We are trying to optimize basically the output in terms of the power that could be generated," Bernitsas said.

"We're developing the controls to make sure we're harnessing a good amount of energy from the flow and the efficiency."

David Haynes, director of business attraction for the St. Clair County Economic Development Alliance, said the agency has been working with Vortex Hydro Energy since 2008.

"Initially, they were looking at the Detroit River, and when that didn't work we introduced the Dunn Paper location," Haynes said.

"It's a green technology. It's environmentally friendly and it's a perfect fit for what we have in our area."

According to FERC records, Vortex Hydro Energy also filed an application for a preliminary permit in 2010, but applied later than Current Connections, which was awarded the permit.

Current Connections obtained the preliminary permit for a plan for six turbine farms containing a total of 396 turbine-generating units on the bottom of the St. Clair River, according to a December 2010 FERC order.

Celeste Miller, a spokeswoman for FERC, said Current Connections' three-year permit was relinquished in 2013.

"Subsequently, we got an application from Vortex Hydro for the St. Clair River Project," Miller said. "We issued them a preliminary permit."

Miller said Vortex Hydro Energy is required to submit updates to FERC every six months. She said the company missed its Dec. 31 deadline for the first report and now has until February to submit it.

Miller said the three-year preliminary permit is a time for the company to do studies and meet with stakeholders and local and state agencies.

Source: The Times Herald

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