The power potential in underwater ocean currents can make the winds that turn terrestrial turbines seem like a baby's breath. But actually tapping the Gulf Stream presents myriad challenges. A new turbine in the works might be able to swim around them.
Darris White, associate mechanical engineering professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, wants to build a swarm of underwater turbines that behave like schools of fish to capture the shifting current. These autonomous turbines wouldn't need to be affixed to one spot on the seafloor. Instead, a set of them would be tethered, allowing them to move together. Sensors would let them communicate with each other.
White told the university (PDF) that he's working on developing a control algorithm that will "allow autonomous turbines to float in formation." This isn't some fringe idea. Scientists and businesses have long looked at tapping underwater currents. Over the summer, the world's largest tidal turbine was lowered into the waters off the Scottish coast. Plus, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is one of more than a dozen that are going to be working with the National Renewable Energy Lab on a new center for oceanic energy.
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The reasons to attempt such turbines are awfully persuasive. There's 21,000 times more energy in that underwater stream than Niagara Falls, holding the potential to power more a million households, according to a recent BBC News article about White's work. White told the BBC that he'd like to come up with a mooring system based on the kind used for moveable offshore oil rigs. Currently the team has started building a turbine prototype that they plan to start testing in the Gulf two years from now.
Critics say that even with tethers, these turbines will require drilling holes deep underwater to make anchors. No simple task. And, the energy has to be transmitted from the turbines to substations. There's also debate over how much the underwater migrates, calling into question the need for autonomous turbines. White's prototype faces extensive permitting, permission-seeking, and environmental assessment before it gets the governmental go-ahead to be tested. As TreeHugger's Matt McDermott writes, "[I]t certainly seems like we're leagues away from deploying autonomous turbine swarms 50 in number half a mile below the waves."
While I'm mesmerized by the Gulf Stream's inherent power potential, I'm rattled by that second oil rig explosion and nervous about hurricane season. We desperately need alternative, renewable energy sources but this doesn't seem like an ideal time to plan attaching anything else to the seafloor.
Photo: A "swarm" of autonomous turbines could harness changing ocean currents by behaving like schools of fish. Credit: Laszlo Ilyes.
Tags: Alternative Power Sources, Energy, Engineering, Green Tech, Water,
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