August 7, 2013 - New York City's East River isn't, technically, a river: It is a tidal straight that runs between Manhattan and Queens, connecting New York Harbor to Long Island Sound. But it sure can move like one: The current can reach a top speed of more than six feet per second, enough to turn swimming upstream into a serious challenge.
In the middle of the river sits Roosevelt Island, a narrow, 150-acre strip of land that serves as the home base for a company called Verdant Power. Verdant has spent the last decade trying to harness the current flowing past the island to create a new kind of green power source - one that comes from underwater turbines that look a bit like giant electric fans.
"They look a lot like wind turbines, except they're smaller because you have to fit them entirely underwater," said Dean Corren, Verdant's director of technology. read more>>>
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