Taming Oceans for 24/7 Power

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.oist.jp/news-center/news/2016/3/2/taming-oceans-247-power

[font face=Serif]2 Mar 2016

[font size=5]Taming Oceans for 24/7 Power[/font]

[font size=3]Fossil fuels propelled the Industrial Revolution and subsequent technological advances. However, our future cannot be based on them, if only because they are a finite resource; and we are very close to exhausting them.

Solar and wind power is often seen as the main locomotive of the energy revolution. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that solar panels and wind turbines alone cannot provide all the energy we need, especially considering that energy consumption around the world is steadily growing. Due to day-night cycles and seasonal weather patterns, solar and wind power is inherently intermittent. Moreover, utility-scale power farms will require vast tracts of land.

Ocean currents are another source of power, comparable to fossil fuels in terms of consistency and reliability, and at the same time, clean and renewable.

In the journal, Renewable Energy, the Quantum Wave Microscopy Unit at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) proposed a design for a submerged marine turbine to harness the energy of the Kuroshio Current, flowing along the Japanese coast. This design is especially suitable for regions regularly devastated by storms and typhoons, such as Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The turbine operates in the middle layer of the current, 100 m below the surface, where the waters flow calmly and steadily, even during strong storms.

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[Jarqui]

1. I loved this idea when I first read about it

I thought they were also trying to do something with this in the North West coastal area. I haven't heard much about it since.

[OnlinePoker]

2. Here's a good site that has daily updated stories on tidal energy

http://tidalenergytoday.com/category/news-by-topic/technology/

One of the issues with underwater turbines that are being tested is they can endanger cetaceans the swim into them. I've heard similar issues with off-shore wind farms that the subsonics in the water that comes when the blades turn have been linked to beach strandings...something to do with the sound patterns confusing the whales or something like that (it was a year or so ago that I read about it).

[Jarqui]

3. Thank you so much. Looks like a great link

The turbines I recall reading about were supposed to be quite deep - on or near the ocean floor. I didn't think there would be much trouble with fish/mammals down there. I suppose they could broadly cage/fence them to minimize injury ...

I'll have to read up on it.

Thanks again. I thought they had much more promise than we've heard about in the media in general.

[Relentless Liberal]

4. Utilizing ocean power is a great idea

But I cringe at the use of the word taming! Haven't we already done too much "taming" of the planet already? I support the idea, but that word just screams "arrogance" to me. We don't own Earth!