Comments on: US Taps Into 1400 Terawatt Hours Of Clean Ocean Power

By: agelbert

agelbert — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 18:16:00 +0000

Also important is the fact that the power potential of those ocean currents running undersea turbines is located less than 20 miles from the largest population centers on the planet (coastal cities) so transmission losses would be minimal.
At least on the east coast of the USA, I am certain that the gulf stream current can provide several multiples of our present power demands (including 100% EV transportation and trucking) 24/7, but I agree that a mix of several renewable energy sources is the best option to provide a robust system where somebody will always have power to help someone else in the event of a large storm or natural catastrophe.

By: agelbert

agelbert — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 18:07:00 +0000

Well said. Don’t forget compressed air as peak load generators too.
In distributed power systems I can envision people having for heating, instead of heating oil or kerosene tanks, some compressed air tanks used to power heating systems at night or simply be available as an emergency power plant (without combustion poisons).
The advantage of compressed air is that, as long as you have a properly and safely designed storage system, you have a “battery” that can be recharged without loss of efficiency..

By: RobS

RobS — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 04:27:00 +0000

Base load is the past, the future value will be in despatchable power sources capable of being ramped up and down rapidly in response to both supply and demand fluctuations. Storage can fill this role and demand response can negate the need for into a degree by making demand match supply rather then the other way around. However several generation sources including hydro, biomass, biogas, and even geothermal depending on the design can also act as peak load generators.

By: RobS

RobS — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 04:23:00 +0000

Limited number of sites is no issue, don’t need it to supply all the power needed, just one part of a diverse suite of renewable generators; solar, wind, hydro, tide, wave, geothermal, biomass, biogas. Add them all together and suddenly their output is not so ntermittent anymore with the on demand nes like biomass, biogas and hydro able to fill the gaps and geothermal providing a background of steady base load.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 21:18:00 +0000

The relevant question is whether we could build ocean current generation cheap than other sources such as wind + stored wind.

Always on, “baseload” generation sounds enticing but it isn’t necessarily the most affordable solution. Look how “baseload” nuclear is going bankrupt in the US. Look how coal is closing in Germany and Australia.

By: jburt56

jburt56 — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 21:09:00 +0000

Bet we could build it for less than a war with Syria!!

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 21:03:00 +0000

Are you sure deep ocean currents are really deep?

I checked a bit on Gulf Stream flow. From what I found most of the movement is closer to the surface.

There’s a tremendous amount of energy flowing between Mexico and Cuba and then on up along the coast of Florida, but it might take turbines mounted on barges to harvest it.

By: JamesWimberley

JamesWimberley — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 19:19:00 +0000

Waves are everywhere in the ocean, but they are very hard to tap reliably. British technologists have been workin at it for decades, without a commercial demonstration to show for it. The ocean surface ia a nightmarishly hostile environment for machinery: constant mechanical shocks, salt spray, and oxygen. The machinery just breaks down.

Tides are better because in open waters you can submerge the equipment entirely, or put it in barrages round lagoons or across estuaries where you can get at it easily for maintenance. The tidal barrage on the Rance in Brittany has been working since 1966. But there are only a limited number of good tidal sites.

By: jburt56

jburt56 — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 15:12:00 +0000

Deep ocean currents are baseload power.