Ocean energy - promising, but not quite for tomorrow
By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Sun, 2006-02-26 19:44Harnessing 20% of the US offshore wave energy potential at 50% efficiency could make a contribution to the US electricity supply equivalent to conventional hydro (around 200 TWh). In addition, there is potential from tidal currents, currently that is still under investigation (reference). According to a white paper from EPRI's Ocean Energy Programme, the world installed capacity for ocean wave power is 2.29 MW, as of September 1, 2005. Obviously the technology is still in development, but a 100 MW facility can be envisioned for 2010 with a production cost of 8-16 c/kWh, well below the cost of wind power when it started its growth curve. Capital costs for wave power plants are lower than for wind, but operating and maintenance costs are an attention area. As any flow energy source, ocean power is intermittent. Wave power has a strong seasonal variation, but the good news is that these energy flows are much more predictable than solar or wind energy:
- availability of wave power is predictable days ahead, compared to hours for wind and minutes for solar
- tidal currents even follow patterns that are fixed for centuries
Environmental performance, potential, cost and intermittency characteristics make ocean power an attractive option for the future diversified energy system, but it would be a very pleasant surprise if this technology were to make a sizeable contribution before 2020.
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Ocean Waterfalls---200 billion Twh annually
By Robert Bostick / Published on Sat, 2007-10-06 3:39What if some brilliant hydro-engineer convinced a group of electric power distibutors/investors that they could eliminate fossil fuel energy forms as well as competition from renewables; wind, solar, thermo, bio, etc. by developing waterfalls in the ocean on the scale of Boulder Dam.
Gone too, would be carbon emissions.
His notion is quite simple since all of the technology currently exists and the only variables would be:
1. Design preference for continuous,flowing water down 700 foot penstocks on a monumental scale. Or, creation of catch basins for intermitent on-demand/peak period flows.
2. Location, location, location. The preference would be non-sea lanes but where there would be relatively close proximity to on-shore power distribution hubs and maintenance capabilities.
3. Security. Competitors would clearly use every means available to protect their market share. Physical, legislative, administrative and, juridicial protections would need to be designed well in advance to ensure the viability of the Ocean Waterfall effort.
4. Build 100 of these structures around the world and eliminate huge amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, deliver really cheap power on a nearly infinitely renewable basis.
Think about it.
Do we have the will to match this imaginative solution to the threats facing the survival of the planet Earth?
* "In the absence of freedom there is no creativity, in the absence of creativity there is no progress."
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