YOUR COMMENTS

I forgot to point out the following: taxpayer-funded energy research in Europe helped establish new high-tech industries (e.g. wind, solar), creating lots of jobs and tax-paying companies there in the process (when you buy a big wind turbine in the U.S., it may say "GE" on the outside, but the technology is probably German or Danish).

The up-front investments are simply too large, and the return on investment is too uncertain or too far in the future for small companies to do this on their own. Investors won't touch tidal or wave energy with a 10-ft pole until you can demonstrate that it works and that it can survive long-term in the water. Unless a really big corporation gets involved (who probably gets tax-breaks in one form or another) federal R&D grants is quite likeley the only way to do this...

Btw, the internet, formerly ARPA-net, would not exist without federal grants either.
- Joe, Manchester

The first two comments by Walter (Bedford) and Robert (Sunapee) highlight the ignorance of the writers.

Walter: Of course you get higher power consumption when turning on many appliances simultaneously in one household, but 2 kW per home is a reasonable AVERAGE.

Robert: The short-sighted, ill-informed TAXPAYER rant.
No, UNH is not really "ours", New Hampshire is actually dead last (50 out of 50 states) when it comes to supporting public higher education - only something like 15% of the budget of UNH comes from the state.
The companies listed in the article do not get federal grant $$ - at least they didn't as of 2008. From 2001-2008 there were exactly zero dollars ($0) available for water power research.

The United States is behind on all fronts of energy research compared to, say Western Europe, *because* we have not been investing federal $$ in energy research (aside from massive subsidies to established industries).

Tidal and wave energy are not the end-all, but they can provide clean energy at the right locations. It's great to see the folks at UNH doing this - they can have my tax dollars!
- Joe, Manchester

The type of thinking displayed here is frightening when I realize they want to spend my money. They're unrealistic. Stating that a 500 kilowatt power plant could supply about 250 homes is ludicrous. That amounts to 2 kilowatts per home, enough to run a microwave oven and a hair dryer at the same time. Nothing else. If they can't figure out domestic power consumption requirements they should find another line of work.
- Walter Griffin, Bedord, NH

Does this venture use 1 penny of TAXPAYER $$ or TAXPAYER land/buildings or TAXPAYER employees?

UNH is ours ...supported with our big tax $$....so by extension it is a Government entity....if not.... then it can go private any day it wants....and build their own program but not with my tax $$$$$.

Why is this goverment trying to get into the business of the private industry. The following 6 companies (listed above) can obviously start their own research center.

Lucid Energy Technologies, LLC
Verdant Energy LLC
Oceana Energy Co
UEK Corp
Underwater Electric Kite Corp
Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC

THIS IS NOT THE GOVERNMENTS JOB!!!!

This is a classic example where we need less govt and more private industry. Private industry pay taxes - Govt does not.

Do Govt people not realise what is going on in the world???? We are all going broke. NH has a large deficit.

Let the private industry do this and hire these people and build up their own industry.

You can bet these companies get a ton of Govt grant $$$ (our money) anyway! So another industry that has to be subsidized because it cant make it on their own merits - just like ethanol!
- Robert, Sunapee