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07/30/2008 08:00 AM
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Texas Companies Exploring Hybrid Offshore Wind and Water Power
SustainableBusiness.com News
Houston-based Hydro Green Energy, LLC and the Wind Energy Systems Technology Group (W.E.S.T.)
have agreed to explore the potential to develop hybrid offshore wind-hydrokinetic ocean
current power projects.
If fully developed as envisioned, Hydro Green Energy and W.E.S.T. will utilize
the Gulf of Mexico’s wind and water currents to generate nearly 5,000 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable
electricity.
W.E.S.T. was founded to bridge
the gap between traditional offshore oil and gas technology and nascent offshore renewable energy
sources. They intend to develop 1,500 to 2,000 MW of offshore wind power in the Gulf.
The agreement signed by the two companies allows Hydro Green Energy access to W.E.S.T.’s platforms
and lease areas for data gathering and possible testing of hydrokinetic systems.
Wayne F. Krouse, Chairman and CEO of Hydro Green Energy, said, “While an enormous amount of work
remains ahead of us and there is still much to learn about the Gulf’s water currents, if the data we gather
confirms that the Gulf has the currents needed for utility-scale ocean power, we plan to aggressively
move forward to develop the world’s first offshore wind-hydrokinetic power projects.”
Hydro Green Energy, LLC designs, builds,
operates and sells hydrokinetic power systems that generate electricity exclusively from moving water
without having to first construct dams, impoundments or conduits. Hydro Green Energy’s technology
operates in open rivers, tidal areas and oceans.
W.E.S.T. in October 2005 signed a historic lease agreement with the General Land Office of Texas for its
offshore wind projects, which are all located in State owned submerged lands and waters. To better
secure its exploration agreement with W.E.S.T., Hydro Green Energy filed ten preliminary permit
applications last week with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the federal agency with licensing
authority over non-federal waterpower projects in the United States.
If granted, the preliminary permits
Hydro Green WEST
would allow Hydro Green Energy a three-year exclusive right to develop the hydrokinetic portion of the
projects, which are all also in Texas water
Hydro Green Energy closed its $2.6 million Series-A funding round in April, which was led by the Quercus
Trust.
Hydro Green Energy is now negotiating its Series-B funding, which the company expects to close by the
end of the year.
Hydro Green
Energy is presently developing river, tidal and ocean hydrokinetic power projects in Alaska, Louisiana,
Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York and Texas.
The company plans to commission a manufacturing facility in 2009 to support the
development of its many projects.
For more information on W.E.S.T., visit http://www.windenergypartners.biz/home.html
Website: http://www.hgenergy.com
