PFI: BIC- The Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project: Optimizing Novel Hydro-Kinetic Renewable Energy Systems via State-of-the-Art Computational Fluid Dynamics Research

This Partnership for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity project from the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory-University of Minnesota (SAFL) seeks to 1) leverage novel computational fluid dynamics algorithms and experimental techniques developed by SAFL, the unique marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy field facilities and industry-leading expertise of Verdant Power, Inc. (VPI), and advances in material science and manufacturing of composite blades by Energetx Composites, Inc. (ECI) to tackle major technological and environmental roadblocks hindering commercial development and wide-spread deployment of technologies for harnessing MHK energy resources; and 2) contribute toward educating the next generation workforce for the MHK industry with emphasis on Native American students. A three-pronged research plan is proposed aimed at 1) Designing and testing via fluid-structure interaction computational tools the next generation of MHK turbine rotor blades optimized for reliable and efficient operation in real-life aquatic environments; 2) Optimizing via site-specific computational modeling the layout of VPI's pilot-scale 30-turbine, 1.05MW array to be developed in the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) site in the East River in New York City; and 3) Developing and demonstrating the utility of the computational tools for quantifying and mitigating environmental effects due to coupled MHK array-geomorphology interactions. At the core of the educational plan of this project is the collaboration with Salish Kootenai Colleg (SKC), which will seek to enrich the 4-year degree program of this college with technological and entrepreneurial content focused on MHK energy. The computational framework to be used in this project is able to carry out high-resolution simulations of turbulence in arbitrarily complex waterways with embedded natural and/or man-made hydraulic structures and/or MHK turbines and multi-turbine arrays, taking into account hydro-elastic effects of turbine blades, and the interactions between turbines and waterway morphodynamic processes. This computational framework will be further developed and demonstrated in a real-world MHK project by leveraging the industry-leading expertise and unique field facilities of the two small business partners. The resulting simulation-based toolbox will be translated to the business partners to provide them for the first time with in depth mechanistic understanding of how turbines perform in and interact with real-life aquatic environments; and a powerful simulation-based engineering science toolbox for site-specific optimization of turbine arrays for efficiency and environmental compatibility.Technologies for harnessing clean and renewable energy from MHK resources are currently at the pre-commercial stage of development and a number of technological and environmental challenges need to be overcome for this emerging industry to impact the nation's economy and renewable energy portfolio. Today, the U.S. MHK industry is at a stage similar to the early days of wind power technology prior to the emergence of a viable industry. Due to market pressures confronting small businesses in a nascent industry sector, the innovation capacity of companies like VPI and ECI is seriously impaired. The proposed PFI will enable both industry partners to leverage unique state-of-the-art simulation tools and emerge as international leaders in the MHK industry. Furthermore, the success of VPI's highly visible RITE project in New York City will provide a major boost to the entire U.S. MHK industry sector and help accelerate the wide-spread deployment of MHK energy technologies throughout the nation. The PFI educational plan will provide pilot content for the SKC Hydrology degree program that will uniquely link a Native American reservation with promising new technologies at a point where technology and entrepreneurial development are happening simultaneously; open-up a new potential marketplace for MHK technology in rural communities on a Native American reservation; and pilot this effort as a model for implementation in other rural communities in the U.S. and in third-world countries.Partners at the inception of the project are the 1) Lead Institution: St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (College of Science and Engineering); 2) Small Business Partners: Verdant Power, Inc. (Roosevelt Island, NY) and Energetx Composites, Inc. (Holland MI); and an 3) Academic Institution: Salish Kootenai College (Pablo, MT).