Bermuda to harness hydro power

HAMILTON, BERMUDA - Bermuda's utility company is proposing to use an underwater generator to harness ocean currents for electricity in this wealthy British territory.

Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield said Wednesday that the plan, if viable, "may assist Bermuda in becoming less reliant on fossil fuel as an energy source."

The underwater generator would provide more than 8 percent of Bermuda's current electricity demand, but it wouldn't damage sea life, including ocean reefs, said privately owned Bermuda Electric Light Company, the island's sole supplier of electricity.

The 45-meter generator would take advantage of constant ocean currents off Bermuda, making it more efficient than large wind turbines. Even slow currents can be turned into high power.

The generator would be dropped between 75m and 200m below the waves, providing power to a substation on land that would feed into the electric company's power grid. The depth of the moored generator means that storms wouldn't damage it.

Utility president Garry Madeiros called the generator "cutting edge technology, not used anywhere else."

The utility would buy the power from Massachusetts-based Current to Current, which is building the generator. The project cost wasn't disclosed, and government approval was pending.

Helen Manich, chief marketing officer for Current to Current, said the unit would be sunk past the first layer of marine life. Fish below that level would be able to safely swim through it.

"Their submersible ocean power system appears to be on the cutting edge of renewable energy production, and at first glance, appears to be a natural fit for Bermuda," said Cole Simons, the opposition party's environmental representative.

Steven Conway, head of the conservation group Bermuda National Trust, also backed the plan.

"The need to reduce emissions and lessen the island's dependence on fossil fuels is vital to sustainable development and the self-sufficiency of the island," he said.

The generator could begin operating by summer, the utility said.