A hydrokinetic proposition for Alaska

Florida man wins prize for device that turns currents into electricity, wants to deploy technology on abandoned oil platforms

Eric Lidji

For Petroleum News

Scott Anderson first wondered about generating power from moving water while watching a 14-knot current rip down the river he happened to be fishing in Alaska.

“I was trying to think how I could get the energy out of the water,” Anderson, 76, said from Florida, where he lives half the year when he’s not on the Kenai Peninsula.

Now, modifying a design invented by the Greek mathematician Archimedes more than 2,000 years ago, Anderson’s team at Smart Product Innovations believes they can convert abandoned oil platforms in Cook Inlet into a clean, renewable power source.

Anderson is the latest in a line of energy entrepreneurs over the past three years interested in pursuing opportunities for generating energy from Alaska waterways without using dams. This technology is broadly known as “in-river hydro” or hydrokinetic energy.

While dozens of different hydrokinetic technologies exist, most share a basic concept: A blade is stuck in a river, and the moving water powers a turbine that generates electricity.

Anderson calls his trademarked variation on the theme the Eco-Auger. As the name implies, it’s an auger — the tool used for boring holes — turned on its side and placed in a river. It’s essentially a version of the Archimedes Screw used to lift water mechanically.

The power of the current makes the auger spin, which in turn generates electricity. The design was novel enough to win the 2009 ConocoPhillips Energy Prize, awarded annually by ConocoPhillips and Penn State University to innovative energy technologies. The prize comes with $125,000, which could help Anderson get the Eco-Auger noticed.

Solves two big problems

The environmental concern is often called the “sushi problem.” A hydrokinetic turbine may not damage marine ecosystems as much as a fully fledged dam, but sticking a spinning blade into a populated river creates the potential for a lot of chopped-up fish.

Anderson learned this the hard way when his grip slipped on an early prototype. “I caught my finger in it, and boy, the sharp blade spinning just really dinged my finger up. That’s when I learned that this is nothing more than a Cuisinart to chop up fish,” he said.

It took months of tinkering to figure it out, but the solution is innovative.

The most common solution to the sushi problem involves placing a grill in front of the turbine to keep fish from getting sucked into the blades, but the Eco-Auger allows fish to swim through the auger. In videos of testing Anderson put online, fish approach the auger, disappear inside the spinning mechanism and pop out the other side unharmed.

The engineering challenge is keeping the energy flow steady. One of the biggest obstacles for renewable energy, particularly non-liquid fuels such as wind and solar, is their unpredictability. Some days the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. A river always runs, but not always at the same speed, making power generation unpredictable.

The Eco-Auger gets around this by adding a step to the generation process. As the auger turns, it creates pressure inside a pump filled with bio-degradable hydraulic oil that in turn generates power, so that no matter how erratic the flow is coming in, it comes out at a relatively even pace.

Looking at Cook Inlet

Hydrokinetic startups see a lot of promise in Alaska. Dozens of rural communities sit along major rivers, like the Yukon and the Kuskokwim. Most of these villages generate all power from diesel fuel shipped in on barges and priced at a premium, sometimes double or triple what urban Alaskans pay. A low cost alternative would be welcomed.

For now, Anderson doesn’t know how the Eco-Auger would work in the relatively shallow waterways during the long winter season when the rivers are covered in ice.

Anderson envisions something much grander: powering the populous urban areas of the state by strapping Eco-Augers onto abandoned oil platforms in the deeper waters of Cook Inlet. The pressurized oil would run up through the supports of the platform to a generation system up top and the power lines would run to shore through empty pipelines.

Anderson believes the idea could save money, as well as generate power. “If I could lease those platforms for electric generation, they wouldn’t have to take them out,” he said.

Permitting still a challenge

One problems facing hydrokinetic technology is its abundance. A recent U.S. Department of Energy report lists more than 100 variations on the basic technology, but notes that few have been tested at full scale, making the environmental impacts difficult to measure.

The DOE report said regulators don’t yet fully understand how the technology might impact river currents, sediments and seabed habitats; how coatings on the equipment might prove toxic to marine life; or the cumulative impact of deploying a lot of turbines.

Another potential issue for entrepreneurs is getting to the game late. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which approves hydro projects, grants permits on a somewhat exclusive basis, and many Alaska waterways already have permitted projects under way.

In fact, Alaska is packed with hydrokinetic projects. A government database lists almost 20 projects from at least five different companies, all at different stages of completion.

Anderson is critical of the length of the permitting process, particularly for new technologies. He doesn’t believe foreign markets are as demanding as the United States, and said New Zealand and Chile have expressed an interest in the technology.

“Both of those countries want this Eco-Auger now,” he said.