When Green Energy is Blue Energy: Power From the Sea
Creating energy from the power of waves. (image:i9-0.com)
Before long it will be good to hear that there’s a giant Anaconda nearby: “Anaconda” is the name for one of the many technologies that promise to tap the ocean’s unlimited power.
Oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, which means they intercept almost three-quarters of all incoming solar energy. In addition to that huge reservoir of thermal energy, trillions of tons of sea water are stirred into motion by gravity, wind, and temperature and density differentials; an almost literally incalculable amount of kinetic energy is stored in their endless movement. Tapping even a tiny percentage of that thermal and kinetic energy could solve humankind’s power problems many times over.
Even better:
- The energy is close to where we need it. 60 percent of the human population lives within 36 miles (60 km) of a seacoast. Similarly, a great deal of our industry is located near the sea.
- The energy is inexhaustible. The sources of oceanic energy—sunlight, and the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun—will never be used up.
- The energy has zero emissions. Some alternative energy sources—such as biofuel—still emit CO2. But ocean energy is like wind or solar power in that it emits nothing: no carbon dioxide or monoxide, no particulates, nothing.
- Ocean energy could be used to produce useful materials from the sea. The power could be used on-site to desalinate sea water, providing fresh water for thirsty populations. It could also be used to crack H2O into its constituent H and O—releasing oxygen while creating hydrogen to power fuel cells. This would let ocean power drive our cars, too.
- Properly sited ocean power installations could have other local beneficial effects. Some designs could serve as breakwaters, protecting fragile coastlines; others could serve as artificial reefs, providing homes for marine organisms.
What’s In It For Home Heating Oil Users?
At first blush, the impact of ocean power on a home heating oil user would seem to be small. In the U.S., little electricity is generated by oil; new sources of electricity save relatively little oil.
Massive Solar Updraft Energy Project Planned For Arizona | HeatingOil.com says: says:
[...] Solar updraft is just one of several ways to capture the sun’s energy. Other techniques include photovoltaic (solar electric cells, like a desktop calculator has) and solar thermal. And solar thermal itself has several variations, such heating water in pipes (like home solar hot water systems) or focusing the sun’s rays with mirrors onto a central tank of fluid which is superheated (basically, an industrial-sized, electricity-generating solar oven). Using the wind as the medium makes sense, given that wind turbines are proven, reliable technology. That’s why some of the most-developed schemes for tapping wave or ocean power do so using the wind: in oscillating water columns, ocean waves are used to create wind which turns turbines. [...]
Heating Oil Weekly Roundup: Weather Maps, Garbage to Fuel, and Tidal Energy | HeatingOil.com says: says:
[...] has us covered. A company called SeaKinetics has developed the HydroWing, which converts the energy of the tides into electricity. SeaKinetics envisions a whole underwater farm of HydroWings feeding an underwater power [...]
Scotland Turns to Wave Energy to Cut Emissions | HeatingOil.com says: says:
[...] reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Many other countries and universities are also interested in harnessing the power of the sea to meet their renewable energy needs. For their part, England, Norway, and Australia have reported success with oscillating water [...]