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 drinking.
A Renew Blue sketch demonstrating how an 18-pump Seadog plant could work.
(Credit: Independent Natural Resources)Texas Natural Resources plans to build the facility one mile off the coast of Freeport, Texas.
Water produced from the off-shore plant will initially be bottled in compostable plastic bottles produced from corn byproducts. It will be sold under the brand Renew Blue and marketed as "environmentally friendly bottled water."
"However, the greater goal of the Seadog pump field is to demonstrate what the technology can do in providing electricity and clean water at a municipal level to regions all over the world that lack fresh water and energy but have an abundance of ocean waves along their coastline," the companies said.
The project will be a test to see how scalable the technology is for widespread use.
In addition to providing electricity, the plant will initially desalinate 3,000 gallons of water per day and hold 30,000 gallons of fresh water at a time to be transported for bottling. But the plant could be designed to eventually desalinate millions of gallons per day for municipal use, according to statistics provided by both companies.
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.
A source of electricity? Click on the image to see installation of the Seadog Pump in the Gulf of Mexico last year.
(Credit: Independent Natural Resources)
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.
A schematic of how the Seadog Pump works to pump water, which is stored and then passed through a turbine to make electricity.
(Credit: Independent Natural Resources)The company last week said that Texas A&M University at Galveston's Marine Engineering Technology Department had evaluated a demonstration machine in the Gulf of Mexico. The university found that the Seadog Pump was able to convert 22 percent of ocean wave energy into usable energy.
Independent Natural Resources is looking to test the system for generating power for electrical utilities or for desalination. Water treatment and pumping are very energy-intensive.
The company says the simplicity of design will make it cheaper to scale up.
It uses readily available parts and no electronics, making it more durable in salt water.
"We are planning our first commercial demonstration facility by year-end 2008 or first-quarter 2009, and have already applied for permitting through the required regulatory agencies," said Doug Sandberg, a company vice president.
Independent Natural Resources plans to have an 18-pump field in the Gulf of Mexico used to desalinate seawater.
Ocean power is, for the most part, experimental technology. One company called Marine Current Technologies is expecting to commission a 1.2-megawatt installation in Ireland in the coming months.
There are a number of other tests taking place. But there's a great deal of potential: experts estimate that wave and tidal power could generate gigawatts of electricity within 10 years, enough to power millions of U.S. homes.
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