Panel hears pitch for creating electric power from the tides
A sculptor turned inventor and entrepreneur is asking Shelter Island to give him at least one site offshore to test a tidal turbine system he maintains would not only save the town money on its electric bills but might even yield some revenue.
E.K. “Ken” von der Heyden this month made his proposal to the Waterways Management Advisory Committee, explaining that his “MoonCurrent” generator would sit on a pontoon platform housing a turbine engine that would be turned by the current to generate power. He hopes to anchor it just offshore in the channel west off Mabel’s Creek west of the South Ferry terminal. An alternative site would be near Coecles Harbor.
The power would feed back into LIPA’s system and credit the Town of Shelter Island. He estimated that Shelter Island electrical costs of about 20 cents per kilowatt could be decreased to about 16 cents.
He briefly pitched the idea to the Town Board in February and the matter was referred to the WMAC for its input. Mr. von der Heyden has also pitched the idea to boards in Southampton and East Hampton, he said.
WMAC members raised a number of questions about the proposal, many of which Mr. von der Heyden said he couldn’t yet answer. The board had concerns about the preferred site being a high traffic area and one where plenty of fishing is also done.
Asked how much would it cost him to produce the machine, he said, “I’ve tried to figure out how to make this thing as cheap as I can,” without giving in on a figure.
How would a permanent fixture in the channel affect fishing and boating in the area? “If there was a big rock there, they’d learn to avoid it,” he responded.
What does South Ferry operator Cliff Clark think about the idea? Mr. von der Heyden said he hadn’t yet spoken with Mr. Clark.
“I need a real spot to test it out,” he said. He speculated that he would seek both grants and investors to support the project but said he wouldn’t take money from anyone until he had a place to put his platform. Investors would want to see a platform in place and know that it would be there for a period of time that would enable them to get their money back.
“I love the ecological aspect,” WMAC member Alfred Loreto said. But it’s a high traffic area for boats and one of the East End’s most prime fishing areas.
The council agreed to mull over the idea before making any recommendations to the Town Council.
Some years ago, another entrepreneur tested a tidal generator in the channel off South Ferry. Councilman Peter Reich said recently he’d heard the experiment had been considered a failure because the turbine platform could not be held in place due to the strong tides.
