Verdant Power’s Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project Wins 2021 Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters Award
Shaping the Future of Marine Renewables Operation
Atlanta, GA (October 22, 2021) – The National Hydropower Association (NHA) today announced Verdant Power’s Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project received the 2021 Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters (OSAW) Award in the category of Operational Excellence.
The category of Operational Excellence recognizes waterpower projects that add value to the industry through technical contributions, innovation, engineering, or technology breakthroughs for new hydropower or marine energy technologies.
Verdant Power is commercializing tidal energy to realize a blue economy powered by a Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) industry. In 2020, Verdant Power deployed three of its fifth-generation turbines mounted on a single TriFrame™ in New York City’s East River tidal strait. The operational excellence of the RITE Project, as recognized by the OSAW award puts the vision of a commercial MRE industry within reach.
In nine months of continuous operation, Verdant’s tidal power system delivered over 300MWh of electric energy to the New York City grid, – a record for MRE production in the United States. The turbine systems exceeded every performance goal, with almost 50% more energy, and near 100% availability, proving the system’s commercial readiness.
“NHA is thrilled to present Verdant Power with the OSAW Award for Operational Excellence,” said LeRoy Coleman, Director of Communications, NHA. “Verdant Power’s dedication to advancing a blue economy powered by MRE shows they are outstanding stewards of the environment. Verdant has worked since 2004 to reach this point of providing affordable, reliable, clean energy to New York City’s grid. We are looking forward to seeing Verdant Power and MRE technology’s growing contribution to the U.S. grid.”
“The high level of performance and reliability demonstrated by Verdant Power’s system over this long-term deployment meets the requirements for commercial operations. As the first technology to receive formal third-party performance validation under the IEC standards, Verdant is now able to accelerate its global expansion into large projects,” said Verdant Power Chief Technology Officer, Dean Corren. “We greatly appreciate this NHA recognition confirming that marine renewables can be deployed to provide clean power while protecting our natural resources.
About the Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters Awards
In 1994, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) created the Hydro Achievement Awards to recognize organizations and projects committed to excellence in the development and operation of hydropower. In 1999, NHA added the Outstanding Stewardship of America’s Rivers (OSAR) Report to profile the best examples of hydropower’s ability to generate clean, renewable, reliable and affordable electricity while protecting the riverine ecosystem. Beginning in 2007, these two recognition programs were merged to more effectively provide recognition to deserving organizations and to reflect the changing nature of the hydropower industry, particularly the fact that hydropower can be used in various waterways. The new award program is called the Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters (OSAW).
OSAW Awards are given out in three distinct categories:
- Operational Excellence: projects that add value to the hydropower industry through technical contributions, innovation, engineering, upgrades and improvements or technology breakthroughs for new hydropower technologies
- Recreational, Environmental & Historical Enhancement: projects that provide enhanced recreational opportunities for the general public, offer measurable benefits that mitigate, conserve, preserve, or enhance the natural resources, or conserve historical aspects of hydropower facilities and their integration with the surrounding community.
- Public Education: programs that effectively communicate and promote the benefits of hydropower through mediums such as curriculum, learning centers, videos or outreach programs.
NHA invites you to learn more about these outstanding endeavors, both past and present, at www.hydro.org/osaw.
