Next Generation Design Competition

Next Gen Notables: Docking Stations

July 09, 2009

Every Thursday for the next few months, we’re posting excerpts from notable 2009 Next Generation proposals that didn’t quite make the final selection featured in the May issue of the magazine. This week: Richard Garber, Nicole Robertson, and Brian Novello’s Docking Stations

Garber, Robertson, and Novello envision a network of modular floating docks that would harness clean energy produced by the tidal action of New York City rivers. Here are a few key excerpts of their proposal:

How would you describe it?
Docking Stations literally “plug-in” to the conventional piers of New York City, extending them further into the river to optimize clean energy generation while increasing public green space and tidal pools for wildlife. Energy awareness is encouraged by increased visibility of the connection between water’s edge and the city’s interior.

How does it pertain to energy?
Docking Stations alleviate the need for conventional power to light our city streets by harnessing river currents with three vertical turbines fastened to the underside of modular floating dock units. Each module generates up to 24 kilowatts of constant energy created by the bi-directional 4 mph current, supporting 350 LED streetlamps.

What makes it important?
Much work has been done in reclaiming access to New York City’s 578 miles of waterfront; and this relationship of the river to the city, not simply its edges, is at the core of our proposal. What if the creation of a modular docking system to expand public access to the rivers and create recreational opportunities could actually produce energy by utilizing the flow of river current? Energy produced could then be fed back to the city’s power grid through existing underground transmission lines to power urban infrastructure, in this case streetlamps.

There is already precedent for turbines creating energy in the waters off of New York City though the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy project (RITE), however, our scheme seeks to generate a similar amount of energy while creating new public spaces and tidal pools through which expanded contact with river-based programs occur. Unlike windmills, which have garnered “not in my backyard” responses because of various negative impacts (visual obstructions, increased noise, danger to migrant bird populations), underwater turbines cannot be seen or heard. But there is another side to this: windmills and other energy producing products permit a visual understanding of power generation via an effect (they literally move, rotate, etc.), turbines are out of sight and therefore out of mind. The floating, programmable surface of Docking Stations serves to link the idea of energy production with a physical space and the effect of powering the city’s infrastructure.

Unlike the RITE scheme, which proposes horizontal turbines that require directional current, Docking Stations are equipped with three vertical turbines that spin regardless of the direction of current. Their shape, which responds to both ebb and flood flow is more efficient for continuous energy generation. Tidal power is predictable and reliable, flowing with the everyday force of the moon on New York City’s rivers. The density of water means that fewer turbines are necessary to produce the same amount of electricity as wind turbines. “It’s the depth and strength of the current in New York’s waterways that makes them turbine-friendly,” said Mollie Gardner, a geologist who works with Verdant Power. “The water is perfect.” Wouldn’t it be fantastic to experience this ebb and flood at the city’s interior which often feels detached from its periphery?

One apparent use for the electricity generated by the Docking Stations could be to power a series of new LED street lamps – another idea currently being explored by the city’s Department of Transportation. In addition to the lifecycle benefits already recognized in the new LED streetlamps proposed for NYC, the streetlamps linked to Docking Stations will be designed to ‘ebb and flood’ with the current. The lamp arm is designed to literally move and rotate in response to the direction of the river current, producing an ephemeral presence of light on the streets at night, shade during daylight hours, and an increased sense of our connection to the water.