Eaton to Develop Underwater Energy Generation System for U.S. Navy

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation has announced it will help to develop an underwater, utility-scale energy generation system for the United States Navy. Eaton is contracted to support the project’s land-based engineering, and will develop high-voltage electrical distribution equipment to efficiently convert and transmit safe, reliable alternative energy from the depths of the ocean to Navy shore facilities.

Eaton’s participation in the project is in collaboration with privately held marine service providers Eclipse Group Inc., leading underwater construction efforts, and Triton Energy Systems, LLC, leading underwater generation engineering efforts.

The system will enable the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) to utilize underwater turbine electricity production technology to provide a sustainable source of utility-scale power by capturing power from ocean currents. NAVFAC is the U.S. Navy’s engineering command committed to the procurement and maintenance of the Navy’s land-based and port facilities.

“Eaton provides an extensive operational footprint across the globe with the ability to rapidly respond to any electrical supply, provisioning, engineering and installation challenge across the full spectrum of the project,” said Joan Saint Amour, chief executive officer, Eclipse Group. “This will be crucial for our collaborative effort as our innovational, alternative energy generation model develops within challenging underwater environments.”

For the project, Eaton has been designated as an Eclipse qualified partner on a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) SEAPORT-E five year contract with a possible capacity in excess of $19 billion.

“This collaboration will help meet the technical challenges associated with high-voltage generation in a saltwater environment,” said Jim Dankowski, manager, Marketing and Business Development, Government Sales and Solutions, Eaton. “It will also promote the commercial viability of deep ocean current alternative energy, which has vast potential to become an established, highly-reliable and efficient source of energy.”

The Eaton Electrical Service and Systems (EESS) division will provide land-based engineering service support as well as coordination of long-term operational land-based maintenance. The EESS division will also thoroughly document the project to create a model for future applications of this developing alternative energy model.

The division is one of the largest and most experienced teams of power system engineers in the industry with dedicated facilities across the world. Eaton will also dedicate a safety support team to accommodate all aspects of safety system engineering and installation.

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Press release, October 17, 2012; Image: Triton Energy Systems