Engineers Look to River and Ocean Currents for Clean Energy

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The Department of Energy is helping to fund 11 projects that are designed to harness the power of moving water

The Department of Energy is looking to tap that resource through its funding of 11 projects designed to harness the power of moving water in rivers and ocean tidal currents.

Still, the design and control of underwater turbines needed to convert energy into electricity is in the experimental stage. Cost, for one, is a factor — it remains far too expensive for commercial use. That makes it a prime candidate for DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy , whose mission is “changing what’s possible” by taking risks.

Several other experimental turbines function like kites. One is called the Manta, inspired by the way a manta ray swims. It was developed by SRI International, a nonprofit scientific research institute in Menlo Park, Calif., with help from the University of California, Berkeley. Michael Lawson, group manager of water power research and development at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said it is working with four SHARK projects using a computer model that can help predict the performance of underwater turbines based on data previously obtained from wind turbines.

Small communities, Lawson pointed out, frequently rely on diesel generators, which are often expensive and subsidized by the state or federal government. Supporters say underwater turbines could prove to be both cleaner and cheaper.

 

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GhostPanther . . .this idea captured my attention when I was a Calculus student in college. WaPo(?) featured an amazing graphic layout of waves & the patterns they create in different environments--I'd only taken enough physics to want to share it with my math prof (who hung it on his door)

GhostPanther You mean like water mills?

Awesome

Yeah but we need nuclear energy, the actual clean source of persistent energy, NOW!

We’ve added energy to our climate system. Might as well get something out if it.

‘Bout time.

Massive environmental impact. High resource inputs. Low energy yield. What’s not to love?

Something else for them to eff up. Is there anything left after that. WeAreDoomed

Why don’t scientists tackle this problem: make issues like this as attractive to mainstream society as the Kardashians. You can calculate density of a black hole but can’t make science popular? Shame.

Anything to avoid addressing the underlying problem, overpopulation.

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