Wednesday June 28, 2006

Small portion of ocean energy could meet world's needs: experts

peakoil.com -> english.people.com.cn :

If only 0.2 percent of the world ocean's untapped energy could be harnessed, it could provide power sufficient for the entire world. Ocean energy, existing in the forms of wave, tidal, marine current, thermal (temperature gradient) and salinity, is one of the largest renewable and clean energy sources, experts told the Energy Ocean 2006 conference in San Diego.

According to the scientists, there are some promising concepts to extract the energy in the ocean. One is the wave generator, a buoy capable of changing wave energy into electricity, said a research team from the Oregon State University. A full scale wave park buoy developed by the team, up to 10 meters tall and 6 meters in diameter, is able to produce 250 KW of power. There is also the underwater tidal turbine, which generates electricity from tidal currents. Another form is the "windfarm," offshore or onshore windmills that utilize strong sea breezes to generate power. Several windfarms are operating successfully in the United States and Europe.

Some scientists plan to extract energy of oceanic currents with the help of an oscillating wing or other working bodies. The technology, called "Vortex Induced Vibrations" (VIV), converts the energy of flowing water into usable energy without spoiling the flow. Experiments performed at the University of Michigan have "met and often exceeded expectations," said Tad Dritz, a researcher from the Vortex Hydro Energy LLC.

- ... so, what's the EROEI?

(2006-06-28 08:38:42 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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