The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth recently began testing the nation's first in-water hydrokinetic energy production device, reports South Coast Today.

Ocean waves, tides and currents are a potential source of vast amounts of green energy, known as hydrokinetic power. Scientists at U Mass-Dartmouth have been researching ways to harness hydrokinetic power, and have taken an important step by lowering a turbine into the waters near Muskeget Channel, according to South Coast Today. The turbine is capturing energy and transmitting it to a barge, while researchers study the impact of the turbine on the natural maritime environment.

U.S. Representative Barney Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said the test is great news for private energy providers, which will be able to use the technology to sell cleanly-produced electricity to consumers, while also providing jobs to area residents.

U Mass-Dartmouth and Massachusetts state government officials are collaborating with federal authorities to create a 300-square-mile off-shore test site to run more large-scale experiments, the source reports.

West Coast researchers have also been working on hydrokinetic energy production. Scientists in Washington state hope to install hydro turbines in Admiralty Inlet in 2013, the Miami Herald recently reported. A project manager told the Herald the biggest challenge has been building turbines that can withstand the tremendously powerful underwater currents off the Washington coast.

The 28 coastal states consume 78 percent of the nation's electricity, according to the Herald, so reliable, affordable hydrokinetic power could dramatically alter the country's energy consumption patterns.