Ocean and river currents can power the whole world, will cost $0.05/kWh to produce

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

A revolutionary device that can harness energy from slow-moving rivers and ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists claim.

The technology can generate electricity in water flowing at a rate of less than one knot - about one mile an hour - meaning it could operate on most waterways and sea beds around the globe.

...

Turbines and water mills need an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are slower than three knots.

...

The new device, which has been inspired by the way fish swim, consists of a system of cylinders positioned horizontal to the water flow and attached to springs.

As water flows past, the cylinder creates vortices, which push and pull the cylinder up and down. The mechanical energy in the vibrations is then converted into electricity.

Cylinders arranged over a cubic metre of the sea or river bed in a flow of three knots can produce 51 watts. This is more efficient than similar-sized turbines or wave generators, and the amount of power produced can increase sharply if the flow is faster or if more cylinders are added.

A "field" of cylinders built on the sea bed over a 1km by 1.5km area, and the height of a two-storey house, with a flow of just three knots, could generate enough power for around 100,000 homes. Just a few of the cylinders, stacked in a short ladder, could power an anchored ship or a lighthouse.

Systems could be sited on river beds or suspended in the ocean. The scientists behind the technology, which has been developed in research funded by the US government, say that generating power in this way would potentially cost only around 3.5p per kilowatt hour, compared to about 4.5p for wind energy and between 10p and 31p for solar power. They say the technology would require up to 50 times less ocean acreage than wave power generation.

...

"If we could harness 0.1 per cent of the energy in the ocean, we could support the energy needs of 15 billion people."

...

Engineers are now deploying a prototype device in the Detroit River, which has a flow of less than two knots. Their work, funded by the US Department of Energy and the US Office of Naval Research, is published in the current issue of the quarterly Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/re...scientists.html

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

now this sounds feasible.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I bet there's an environazi group somewhere that will have a problem with this though. After all, ocean and river beds are for the little critters, not us!

[MrsCat 6]

pls send that electricity here. running the air conditioner is costing like $300/month. I can't afford to get my nails and hair done every two weeks like the wife in the other thread.

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

I bet there's an environazi group somewhere that will have a problem with this though. After all, ocean and river beds are for the little critters, not us!

then they can take turns on a treadmill making electricity.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

An even better idea would be to harness all the hot air here and turn it into a source of cheap energy.

[Welshcookie 17]

I totally agree

[NickD 203]

A revolutionary device that can harness energy from slow-moving rivers and ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists claim.

The technology can generate electricity in water flowing at a rate of less than one knot - about one mile an hour - meaning it could operate on most waterways and sea beds around the globe.

...

Turbines and water mills need an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are slower than three knots.

...

The new device, which has been inspired by the way fish swim, consists of a system of cylinders positioned horizontal to the water flow and attached to springs.

As water flows past, the cylinder creates vortices, which push and pull the cylinder up and down. The mechanical energy in the vibrations is then converted into electricity.

Cylinders arranged over a cubic metre of the sea or river bed in a flow of three knots can produce 51 watts. This is more efficient than similar-sized turbines or wave generators, and the amount of power produced can increase sharply if the flow is faster or if more cylinders are added.

A "field" of cylinders built on the sea bed over a 1km by 1.5km area, and the height of a two-storey house, with a flow of just three knots, could generate enough power for around 100,000 homes. Just a few of the cylinders, stacked in a short ladder, could power an anchored ship or a lighthouse.

Systems could be sited on river beds or suspended in the ocean. The scientists behind the technology, which has been developed in research funded by the US government, say that generating power in this way would potentially cost only around 3.5p per kilowatt hour, compared to about 4.5p for wind energy and between 10p and 31p for solar power. They say the technology would require up to 50 times less ocean acreage than wave power generation.

...

"If we could harness 0.1 per cent of the energy in the ocean, we could support the energy needs of 15 billion people."

...

Engineers are now deploying a prototype device in the Detroit River, which has a flow of less than two knots. Their work, funded by the US Department of Energy and the US Office of Naval Research, is published in the current issue of the quarterly Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/re...scientists.html

SOS, same old stuff or sh!t, whichever word suits you best, all this stuff has been around for years. Energy can be found anywhere where there is change, change in light, temperature, currents, winds or water, and if you make a living selling oil or coal, can hire the best attorneys, can always find a way to argue harnessing such energy would have negative effects on the environment whether true or false so you can stop it.

Can argue restricting movements of ocean currents caused by the rotation of the moon around the earth will slow the orbiting of the moon down so it will eventually fall to the earth. Difficult to prove one way or the other, but why risk it? Anything under water is a navigational hazard.

If that doesn't work in a court of law, and you claim you own a hole in the ground that has oil in it that is only yours, can drop the price so other means are no longer competitive. For a company to start up, not only an investment in new technologies are required, but lots of bucks to prove your case in court and also to defend your changes on the environment. Can't even lay an extension cord on the ground without a zillion people saying the magnetic field will cause cancer in ants.

These means will die again and again, until all the oil and coal sources run dry.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

pls send that electricity here. running the air conditioner is costing like $300/month. I can't afford to get my nails and hair done every two weeks like the wife in the other thread.

Well, you have plenty of ocean around you. Although the sea bed drops off pretty fast.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Nice! Good to hear. Lets start this project today.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Nice! Good to hear. Lets start this project today.

A prototype is being worked on, in the Detroit River.

[Teacher Mark 53]

Nice! Good to hear. Lets start this project today.

A prototype is being worked on, in the Detroit River.

The Detroit River? I predict it will be rendered useless after the cylinders become clogged with murder victims and Michael Moore's discarded chicken bones.

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Nice! Good to hear. Lets start this project today.

A prototype is being worked on, in the Detroit River.

The Detroit River? I predict it will be rendered useless after the cylinders become clogged with murder victims and Michael Moore's discarded chicken bones.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Hmm....I have a better plan to clean the river. Have a grinder that filters all those corpse away from the cylinders.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I bet there's an environazi group somewhere that will have a problem with this though. After all, ocean and river beds are for the little critters, not us!

I'd like to hear what marine biologists will say....there very well may be some environmental concerns.