tidal

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--When it comes to harvesting energy from oceans and rivers, the "sink or swim" approach doesn't really work.

Getting wave and tidal power machines to actually deliver power into the grid requires multiple stages of testing, with each one a step closer toward deploying devices in open waters, according to experts at a marine energy conference here earlier this week.

Dropping these expensive and often bulky machines, be they underwater turbines or buoys, into harsh ocean conditions without a phased approach and long-range game plan is a recipe for disappointment, they said.

"We need … Read more

Maine is now home to the "largest ocean energy device ever installed in U.S. waters," the Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) announced Wednesday.

That device is the company's Beta Power System, which was installed in Cobscook Bay off of Eastport, Maine, and includes a submerged Turbine Generator Unit with a capacity of 60 kilowatts.

The TGU works in similar principle to a wind turbine, but with a horizontal turbine propelled by tidal currents instead of wind. The turbine is built from composite materials resistant to corrosion and, being gearless, requires no lubricants that could make their … Read more

Renew Blue's Seadog pump, which uses wave and tidal power to produce electricity and can be harnessed for desalination, is about to be put to the commercial test off the coast of Texas.

Earlier this month, Renew Blue, a subsidiary of the Minneapolis-based Independent Natural Resources, was granted the first-ever state off-shore wave energy lease from the Texas General Land Office. On Thursday, Renew Blue announced that it has licensed its technology to Texas Natural Resources and that they will partner to develop an off-shore facility for 18 Seadog pumps that will both produce power and desalinate seawater for … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The fledgling ocean energy industry is awash in ideas for making electricity from moving water but it is still reaching for a toehold in the commercial world.

Greentech Media last week released a summary of an ocean energy report that forecasts great potential for wave and tidal energy.

Ocean power--a resource often located near large population centers--could ultimately generate 25 percent of today's total electricity usage, said report co-author Travis Bradford, president of the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development.

In the next six years, electricity production from the ocean could swell from just 10 megawatts now to … Read more

Google sees the future of computing at sea.

The search giant has filed a patent for a "floating data center" that uses wave motion to power on-board computers and the ocean's water to cool them.

The patent was submitted in February last year but was spotted in the U.S. Patent & Trademark office's electronic filings and posted at Slashdot on Saturday.

The system Google engineers sketch out is a self-powered data center placed three to seven miles offshore, potentially operating off the grid. Standard shipping containers would house racks of computers that could be transported … Read more

There are a growing number of designs being floated to make electricity from the sea. But the Seadog Pump may get the prize for the simplest.

Wave- or tidal-power devices use underwater turbines or buoys to convert the motion of the ocean's water into electricity.

The Seadog Pump from Independent Natural Resources in Minnesota just focuses on pumping water.

A floating station uses wave motion to drive a piston that pumps water through an exhaust pipe. That water is collected and then passed through standard turbines to make electricity when needed, returning the water to its source.

The company … Read more

Hydro Green Energy, which wants to plumb America's waterways for electricity, has received $2.6 million in funding.

The company wants to create somewhat small, modular turbines and then set them down in arrays in waterways. Each turbine would be capable of harvesting 250 kilowatts of power. The size of the array would then depend on the size and power of the waterway.

It hopes to plant these arrays in Minnesota, Louisiana, Mississippi, and other states.

Many other companies, such as Ireland's OpenHydro, are building large machines that look like oil derricks for harvesting power. These larger machines … Read more

Those friendly Russians want to bring more energy directly to your doorstep if you live in North America. That means digging the world's longest tunnel. The proposed project would dig a tunnel over 60 miles long beneath the Bering Sea, surfacing at two islands en route.

Next week a coalition of Russian businesses will present this plan to Canada and the U.S. If it moves ahead, the tunnel would be twice as long as the one now connecting Britain and France.

The tunnel would connect major highways and pipelines yet to be constructed. The hope is to deliver … Read more