Ocean power is gaining ground
Hans De Keulenaer
Renewables are trendy, there is agreement there. But
some concerns are being raised about the "invasion of nature" we need
to do to meet our energy needs using renewable energy sources. The
lacks of materials, workforce for maintenance or even land to install
renewable technologies are some of the issues being raised.
But there are still a number of solutions with high potential to be explored. Ocean Energy is one of these. The potential is still unknown, but it is available, predictable, and there is a lot! Wave energy has the highest density among all renewable energy sources. The chart above ilustrates the global relative wave energy density.
Earlier this year this blog referred to ocean power but since then a number of new developments happened:
- first sub sea commercial wave energy farm in Scotland (using Archimedes Wave Swing technology)
- first commercial tidal current power system in the UK and US (using Seagen technology)
- first wave power projects using Pelamis generators in Portugal and in the
UK
And a number of new concepts are entering the market:
- hydro-hydraulic power generator
- new concept for water dams
- ocean energy
bionic energy conversion
If renewables already took of, ocean energy solutions are catching up. The solutions are varied and the potential is great. In the end, the majority of our planet is covered by oceans!
The questions are:
What amount of energy can it deliver?
Source: http://www.leonardo-energy.org/drupal/node/2161