Ocean power could be a great energy source. The oceans, propelled by currents and the lunar cycle create our own “propetual motion machine” that can be harvested for a clean, unending source of energy.
Other futuristic energy sources like hydrogen, requre processing and extraction methods that require use of fossil fuels. Also, solar and wind engergy, while promising, I don’t think can deliver the potential power that the ocean can. This is a trend worth watching…
Ocean Power Fights Current Thinking
By John Gartner March 28, 2005
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Ocean waves provide a predictable source of energy that is easily tapped, and will likely have minimal impact on the environment, but the U.S. government is not pursuing this renewable resource.
Recent advancements in the technology indicate that with a relatively small investment from the government, wave energy could soon compete with other renewable sources.
Wave energy systems place objects on the water’s surface that generate energy by rising and falling with the waves. The wave energy in turn moves a buoy or cylinder up and down, which turns a generator that sends the electricity through an undersea cable to a power station on the shore.
Several companies — Ocean Power Delivery, AquaEnergy Group and Ocean Power Technology — have developed prototype wave energy conversion systems that the companies say are ready to be deployed along United States coastlines.
The potential energy to be captured from ocean waves could surpass the other forms of renewable energy such as solar, wind, or hydropower, according to a recent study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a research group funded by hundreds of utilities.
According to a report released in January, 2005, the total wave power along the coastlines of the U.S. is approximately 2,100 terrawatt hours per year, nearly as much as all of the electricity produced by coal and roughly 10 times the total energy produced by all of the country’s hydroelectric plants.
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/03/wo/wo_gartner032805.asp
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