Verdant, CECEP to develop tidal energy projects

Verdant Power and CECEP will develop tidal energy power projects in China.

The MOU between the two companies is the first of its kind between China and the U.S. involving marine and hydrokinetic power projects.

The MOU establishes tidal and river power devices as a new stream of U.S. exports to international markets. It will also spur economic development and job growth in the U.S. and build momentum for a domestic tidal energy market.

U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, were on hand to witness the signing. The MOU marked a stop on Secretary Locke’s three-day clean energy trade mission in China. Secretary Locke traveled with several U.S. businesses to focus on opportunities for U.S. renewable energy technology developers in China’s growing energy market.

"Marine kinetic hydropower is an energy resource that is greatly underused -- but which must play a greater role in the future if ‘sustainable hydropower’ is to be achieved," stated Ronald Smith, CEO of Verdant Power. "This historic signing is a significant first step for both countries in the collaborative development of this type of renewable energy."

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the undeveloped hydropower potential of the U.S. is more than 250,000 megawatts. China’s Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power estimates that the undeveloped hydropower potential of China is nearly double that of the U.S. at more than 475,000 megawatts.

The China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group - Verdant Power MOU will provide a framework for the effective collaboration of siting and operating the aforementioned tidal and river power systems on an international scale.