A turbine being lowered into the East River for testing in 2004. A $1.5 million sonar system is planned to monitor effects on fish populations.
Posted on 08/03/2006 7:27:46 AM PDT by Uncledave
NEWCASTLE, England — There is more riding the waves here than surfers, thanks to a growing number of scientists, engineers and investors.
A group of entrepreneurs is harnessing the perpetual motion of the ocean and turning it into a commodity in high demand: energy. Right now, machines of various shapes and sizes are being tested off shores from the North Sea to the Pacific — one may even be coming to the East River in New York State this fall — to see how they capture waves and tides and create marine energy.
The industry is still in its infancy, but it is gaining attention, much because of the persistence of marine energy inventors, like Dean R. Corren, who have doggedly lugged their wave and tidal prototypes around the world, even during the years when money and interest dried up. Mr. Corren, trim and cerebral, is a scientist who has long advocated green energy and pushed through numerous conservation measures when he was chairman of the public energy utility for the city of Burlington, Vt.
Another believer in the technology is Max Carcas, head of business development for Ocean Power Delivery of Edinburgh. “In the long run, this could become one of the most competitive sources of energy,” said Mr. Carcas.
His company manufactures the Pelamis, a snakelike wave energy machine the size of a passenger train, which generates energy by absorbing waves as they undulate on the ocean surface.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
A turbine being lowered into the East River for testing in 2004. A $1.5 million sonar system is planned to monitor effects on fish populations.
Please Freep Mail me if you'd like on/off
"Water is more than 800 times denser than air, so for the same surface area, water moving 12 miles per hour exerts about the same amount of force as a constant 110 mph wind."
http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/guide/current/index.cfm
I think there's a tendency for such things to get ripped apart when a storm geometrically increases the ocean's might.
My guess is corrosive salt water.
That's true in the past but with all that experience building metal-hulled oceangoing ships and oil-production platforms out in the ocean, we do have the metallurgical knowledge to build these ocean-wave generators that can last a long time in seawater.
Right now, one can capture energy from the Sun by letting the sun pick water vapor up into the air where it rises, floats over the mountains, cools and returns as fresh distilled water to the ground. There, it can be captured behind a dam and stored as potential energy. That energy can be released on demand through turbines which generate electricity.
Unfortunately, that is happening less and less and more potential energy is being lost because of environMENTAL concerns.
"Oh...that dam will impact the wonderful hiking in the canyon and eliminate our white-water rafting business" says a long haired, maggot infested FM listening environMENTAList."
Good luck on capturing energy from the Ocean.
"Oh, that energy farm will cause stress for migrating whales and ruin our kayaking rental business!!!"
I can hear it now.
Living next to a 40 mile long, 1800 foot deep empty lake with a dam-site built 30 years ago that was never completed.
Another method is to anchor a floating generator that obtains energy from rising and falling where waves are dominant.
There are places like the south end of Baja California where the tides are huge and one could farm the tidal energy in thousands of megawatts when the tide comes in, and when it goes out.
Are there truly a good deal of high potential damnable (!) sites left in the country? I'm talking ones in the 100MW+ category.
40 miles long, 1800 feet deep, two forks anywhere from a mile wide to 4 miles wide.
Thats a lot of water.... well, it WOULD be a lot of water but they stopped building it right as the concrete was about to be poured.
There is a canyon on the other side of the ridge called "Blue Canyone that is wider and deeper, but not as long. It would make a huge lake...but then, there I go again forgetting about the rafters and hikers.
for later read
My thought is to find a non navigable area that has a steady current. Submerge the entire unit so that it is located below the range of wave action. (Mark with buoys, of course) You could run it simply as a tube with a turbine at one end to use the current--the simplest way.
Or if you want the ram jet, put a plane surface on each end of the tubes. The current creates lift over the surfact to tilt the tube up on one end to bob up, make the plane tilt on the other, and have a water driven cam that reverses the direction of the planes at the limit of tilt. (Like the inner workings of a water sprinkler.)
Mayor's current idea: Catch a wave to make power
San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, June 25, 2006San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ... hopes to ride the energy wave of the future by sinking turbines under the Golden Gate Bridge and current-catching generators off Ocean Beach. The idea: Produce electricity for the city to sell or use, or both.
(snip)
After a couple years of serious study, the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute concluded:
One: That San Francisco could tap enough wave power at Ocean Beach to keep the entire city lit -- depending, of course, on how large a wave plant it chose to build.
And two: That the tides at the Golden Gate make that spot the best in the entire lower 48 states to produce tidal power, though the potential for installing turbine generators under the bridge is a bit limited by space.
Tidal power, however, is a less expensive energy alternative than wave power. So now comes a second study to address the environmental impact of submerging turbines about 190 feet beneath the Golden Gate -- deep enough, we're told, to avoid any ships running in and out of the bay.
Johanna Partin, the renewable energy program manager for the city's Department of Electricity, says planners have already considered potential threats to fish and other sea life, as well as the possibility of a harmful buildup of silt. They've concluded that there's little chance of harm -- but to be safe, they are recommending that only a "conservative" 15 percent of the area beneath the Golden Gate Bridge be tapped.
"This is not like putting in a nuclear power plant," Partin said. "If there is a problem, you can pull it out of the water -- end of story."
There is still the question of who should own the power and who will pay the $5 million to $7 million it will cost for this little experiment under the Golden Gate. It could be the city, it could be Pacific Gas and Electric Co., or it could be a little-known Florida firm, operating as Golden Gate Energy, that has already landed a federal license to bring the ocean technology to the bay.
Oh no! The capitalists are going to suck all the energy out of the ocean. And, this plan will suck energy from the tides too, which will suck energy out of the moon. Our computer models show that the moon will crash into the earth in just 150 years if this continues.
The devices are very interesting if you like large machines and who doesn't? But, they are not cheap even if the motive force is free.
They've been saying this since the '70s.
Anyone ignoring this beautiful scenario wishes to live in Liberal Ignorant Bliss!!!
How can it feel that good to be so oblivious to the obvious???
Excellent post, Paloma!!! More power to ya!!!
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