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www.sname.org/sname/mt July 2013 FROM DEMONSTRATION TO MARKET By Dean R. Corren Evolving system moves toward commercial viabilityOur company, Verdant Power, Inc., has been developing and operating kinetic hydropower systems since its formation in 2000, with a continuing goal of creating a commercially viable marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) power generation industry. Our kinetic hydropower system (KHPS) is based on a three-bladed horizontal- axis turbine. Our approach to technology development has been stepwise, both in scale and functionality. With our fourth generation (Gen4) system, beginning in 2006, we demonstrated excellent technical performance and environmental com- patibility at our Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) project site in New York Citys East River. Since 2010, we have been designing a commercial system (Gen5) based on the performance of the prior systems, but designed from the ground up to meet the requirements of the commercial electric power marketplace. Concurrently, Verdant has pursued other aspects of developing and deploying a commercial system. Working with regulatory agencies to achieve permitting, we have advanced the science of resource analysis and the performance of operational envi- ronmental monitoring. In January 2012, we received the rst full-scale commercial MHK pilot project license in the United States from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for an array of 30 Gen5 KHPS turbines at our RITE project site. Commercial market entry Bringing the KHPS technology to the commercial electric power marketplace requires systematic funding to advance the technology to a point that attracts nancing of large-scale projects. ese projects will use arrays of numerous tur- bines and the accompanying systems at speci c water resource sites. In order for the emerging MHK energy industry to secure nancing for such projects, a num- ber of steps must be accomplished. Reaching the goal of nancing a commercial MHK project begins with a core technology that has been proved for performance, safety, and reliability. For the emerging MHK industry, international standards are now under development, a process in which Verdant is a full participant. (For more on MHK standards devel- opment, see Critical Role,? beginning on page 40 in this issue.) Such standards,