ABSTRACT
As King Canute reportedly discovered, the rise and fall of the seas represent a vast and relentless natural phenomenon-certainly beyond the absolute control of all earthly subjects. Broadly categorized as marine and hydrokinetic energy systems, a new generation of water power technologies offers the possibility of generating electricity from water without the need for dams and diversions. There are numerous plans, both in the United States and internationally, to develop these energy conversion technologies; however, because the concepts are new, few devices have been deployed and tested in rivers and oceans. Even fewer environmental studies of these technologies have been carried out, and thus potential environmental effects remain mostly speculative (Boehlert et al., 2008; Cada et al., 2007; Michel et al., 2007; Pelc and Fujita, 2002). The following account is based on what we currently know or what we think we know about the potential environmental impacts of hydrokinetic technologies.
