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Old Posted Nov 5, 2009, 6:33 PM
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Hydro Power Thread

Underwater Kite Harnesses Ocean Energy


October 23rd, 2009

Written by Susan Kraemer

http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/23/...-ocean-energy/

Quote:
A completely new concept of underwater wave energy using a simple 7 ton kite turbine design has been developed by Minesto; which is a spinoff from the Swedish military and aircraft design firm Saab. The Deep Green underwater turbine captures the power of the ocean just like a kite in wind.

The system could generate 18 terawatthours of energy annually, enough to provide nearly 4 million British households with reliably green electricity every year. UK households now use about a third of what average US households use in energy.

Originally Saab was working on a kite design for a wind turbine, but found that the concept would actually work better in water, which is 832 times more dense than air.



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Old Posted Nov 7, 2009, 7:21 PM
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Biologically Inspired Ocean Power Systems


BIOSYSTEMS WEBSITE

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BioPower Systems is commercialising ocean power conversion technologies. Through application of biomimicry, we have adopted nature's mechanisms for survival and energy conversion in the marine environment and have applied these in the development of our proprietary wave and tidal power systems.

Our technologies inherit benefits developed during 3.8 Billion years of evolutionary optimization in nature’s ocean laboratory.The resulting systems move and sway in tune with the forces of the ocean, and naturally streamline when extreme conditions prevail. This leads to lightweight designs and associated low costs.

The inherently simple bioWAVE™ and bioSTREAM™ devices are designed to supply utility-scale grid-connected renewable energy using efficient modular systems. These systems will reside beneath the ocean surface, out of view, and in harmony with the living creatures that inspired their design.



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Old Posted Nov 7, 2009, 7:23 PM
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Old Posted Nov 20, 2009, 4:23 PM
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Engineers Use Aerospace Approach to Design Wave Energy System


Nov. 20, 2009

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1119111329.htm

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The ocean is a potentially vast source of electric power, yet as engineers test new technologies for capturing it, the devices are plagued by battering storms, limited efficiency, and the need to be tethered to the seafloor.

- Now, a team of aerospace engineers is applying the principles that keep airplanes aloft to create a new wave-energy system that is durable, extremely efficient, and can be placed anywhere in the ocean, regardless of depth.

- While still in early design stages, computer and scale-model tests of the system suggest higher efficiencies than wind turbines. The system is designed to effectively cancel incoming waves, capturing their energy while flattening them out, providing an added application as a storm-wave breaker.



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Old Posted Nov 23, 2009, 1:27 AM
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Wave Hub to begin construction (U.K)


By Timon Singh | 11/20/09 - 09:12

http://www.euinfrastructure.com/news/wave-hub/

Quote:
A groundbreaking renewable energy project that will see the UK's first offshore facility dedicated to wave energy, has begun construction.

- Wave Hub will be constructed off the North Coast of Cornwall (10 miles off Hayle) and will essentially be a 'socket' sitting on the seabed for wave energy converters to be plugged into. It is hoped Wave Hub's construction will make the South West a leading player in the global marine energy industry.



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Old Posted Nov 23, 2009, 1:29 AM
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Portugal: A pioneer for wave energy?


By David Amstell | 10/14/09 - 12:55

http://www.ngpowereu.com/news/portugal-wave-energy/

Quote:
A consortium led by Finnish energy firm AW-Energy has signed a US$4.4 million contract with the EU to demonstrate the WaveRoller wave energy technology in waters off the coast of Portugal.

- The contract is the first awarded under the EU's "Call FP7 - Demonstration of innovative full-size systems." As part of the deal, AW-Energy and consortium partners will deploy the first grid-connected WaveRoller unit near the Portuguese town of Peniche. The nominal capacity of the WaveRoller unit is 300kW and the project includes a one-year testing period.
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Old Posted Nov 27, 2009, 4:37 PM
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Wave energy generator pumps power to Scotland


November 24, 2009

by Martin LaMonica

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10404209-54.html

Quote:
Wave energy got a boost with the connection of the Oyster hydro-electric device to the electricity grid in Scotland last Friday.

Aquamarine Power activated the connection of the Oyster in the waters off Orkney, marking one of the few ocean power devices to be producing electricity.

The device is a hydraulic pump operated by a "hinged flap," where a large metal piece moves back and forth from the motion of the waves. The movement moves a hydraulic piston that pumps water underground to a hydro-electric turbine that drives a generator to make electricity.

The peak power output of the Oyster 1 is about two megawatts, depending on the location. The company, which received research funding from the U.K. government, is now working on a second-generation device.



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Old Posted Jan 4, 2010, 11:30 PM
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River power. VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibrations Aquatic Clean Energy)- Great Video's!


June 14, 2009

Read More: http://www.equitygroups.com/generals...es/149583.html

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A novel approach to extract energy from flowing water currents. It is unlike any other ocean energy or low-head hydropower concept. VIVACE is based on the extensively studied phenomenon of Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV), which was first observed 500 years ago by Leonardo DaVinci in the form of “Aeolian Tones.” For decades, engineers have been trying to prevent VIV from damaging offshore equipment and structures. By maximizing and exploiting VIV rather than spoiling and preventing it, VIVACE takes this ‘problem’ and transforms it into a valuable resource for mankind.

Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) result from vortices forming and shedding on the downstream side of a bluff body in a current. Vortex shedding alternates from one side to the other, thereby creating a vibration or oscillation. The VIV phenomenon is non-linear, which means it can produce useful energy at high efficiency over a wide range of current speeds.



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Old Posted Feb 16, 2010, 4:44 AM
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Hydro-Hydraulic Energy Invention


August 3rd, 2007



Read More: http://www.alternative-energy-news.i...rgy-invention/

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Pakistan inventor Sarfraz Ahmad Khan has been working hard to develop new hydro technologies like this hydro power invention. His latest concept features the run of river active setup of micro hydro power generation blended with basic principals of hydraulics. This concept explores the possibility of transmitting the (collective) mechanical power gained from run-of-river hydro setup by converting it into hydraulic pressure. The sum-up of hydraulic pressure will make the main generators work. The basic concept requires hydraulic systems that can help to us to gain some reasonably good mechanical advantages. The hydro-mechanics will convert the mechanical force into hydraulic pressure. The collective hydraulic pressure shall be utilized to rotate the generator shaft.

As we know, if we produce a run-of-river micro hydro active system, the cost may be lower but on the other hand the output is not very significant. If we produce a large number of hydro rotors we will require an equivalent numbers of generators. In this concept we will collect the mechanical energy of Rotors spinning by the effect of high velocity river, into the hydraulic pressure by the help of input pistons. The hydraulic pressure gained from multiple set-ups of run of river rotors can be collected in an active hydraulic pressure chamber. By using the interchanging valves this pressure can be consecutively transferred to the output pistons. So the output piston will work to rotate the shaft of generator.

As a result we will have large numbers of rotors to utilize the sum of their mechanical force. We will need to install only two appropriate size generators for higher output. This theme can cut the cost of many small scale generators and instead of installing a row of generators we will have to install only two generators.






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Old Posted Feb 26, 2010, 3:38 PM
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First American Wave Power Farm Is Being Constructed on the Oregon Coast


25th of February 2010

By Alexandru Nistor

Read More: http://gadgets.softpedia.com/news/Fi...t-8185-01.html

Quote:
Though energy harnessing solutions besides the traditional oil exist for some time now, you don't get to see them very often used in America. Most people are skeptical of these new solutions because of the well-known American oil tradition, but the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association disagrees and has a practical approach at contradicting those people.

- Onno Husing, director of the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association, thinks that not everybody believes in the possibility of gathering energy from waves, "A lot of people who are very experienced with the ocean harbor a lot of doubt that anyone can in a cost-effective way put buoys in the water, harvest the energy, and not have them end up on the beach."



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Old Posted Mar 3, 2010, 6:45 PM
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Hydroelectric generator can be carried like a backpack


March 2, 2010

Read More: http://www.physorg.com/news186761968.html

Quote:
Bourne Energy, a company based in Malibu, California, specializes in a variety of hydropower systems. While most of its technology is for large-scale applications, with multiple units generating energy on the megawatt scale, the company recently revealed a hydroelectric generator that is small enough that it can be worn as a backpack. Weighing less than 30 pounds, the Backpack Power Plant (BPP) can generate 500 watts of power from streams at least four feet deep.

Bourne demonstrated a militarized version of the BPP last week at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco. Compared with the less rugged civilian version, the military version can generate 600 watts and weighs less than 25 pounds.

To install the mini hydro system in a stream, a person first digs two trenches on opposite sides of the stream and inserts a lightweight anchor into each trench. Then a rope is used to connect the anchors, and the hydropower plant is hung from the rope over (and into) the stream. The civilian version functions best in streams where the water is running at 2.3 meters per second, while the military version is designed to work with a variety of flow rates.

As Bourne Energy CEO Chris Catlin explained, the system's design is based on the high-tension mooring systems that hold up floating oil rigs. However, the military version can also be bottom-mounted to be completely invisible. Further, both versions can be set up in arrays to generate more than 30 kW of power.

The civilian version will cost about $3,000 when it goes into production. The company predicts that the biggest markets for the system may be in developing nations, as well as the military. Bourne Energy notes that the biggest advantage of the Backpack Power Plant is its ability to generate relatively large amounts of power as a portable device, especially when compared to other renewable technologies such as solar cells.

“This can bring a cheap, highly portable energy technology to remote areas and remote villages,” Catlin said.



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Old Posted Mar 5, 2010, 10:42 PM
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With Artificial Photosynthesis, A Bottle of Water Could Produce Enough Energy To Power A House


03.04.2010

By Stuart Fox

Read More: http://www.popsci.com/technology/art...e-bottle-water

Quote:
One of the interesting side effects of last year's stimulus bill was $400 million in funding for ARPA-E, the civilian, energy-focused cousin of DARPA. And in this week's first ever ARPA-E conference, MIT chemist Dan Nocera showed how well he put that stimulus money to use by highlighting his new photosynthetic process. Using a special catalyst, the process splits water into oxygen and hydrogen fuel efficiently enough to power a home using only sunlight and a bottle of water.

Like organic photosynthesis, Nocera's reaction uses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy. However, whereas plants create energy in the form of sugars, this process creates energy in the form of free hydrogen. That hydrogen can either be recombined with the oxygen in a fuel cell to generate electricity, or converted into a liquid fuel.

In about four hours, water treated with Nocera's catalyst can produce 30 kilowatt-hours of energy. Moreover, the process is cheap. So cheap, in fact, that Nocera has no problem envisioning a day when each house generates its own fuel and electricity from photosynthesis.

But don't take my word for it. Check out this video and hear Nocera describe this process himself:



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Old Posted Jul 17, 2010, 4:08 AM
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Tidal power: OpenHydro breaks


06/21/10

By Timon Singh



Read More: http://www.euinfrastructure.com/news...wer-openhydro/

Quote:
When it was first unveiled last November, OpenHydro was the poster child of the tidal power industry, with its experimental underwater turbine proving the industry was a feasible renewable energy capable of joining solar and wind energy in the 'green energy big leagues'. OpenHydro's reputation has been tarnished however as it was lifted from its home in the Bay of Fundy, near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, after a rotor broke. When the 400-tonne, six-story turbine was lowered onto the seabed last November, there was some concern whether the device would be up to the challenge of being placed in the stormy environment. In fact, the Bay of Fundy has one of the world's highest tides in the world with the sea levels rising 55 feet or more, generating a potential of 1,013 MW of power, 152 MW of which can be harnessed with little environmental impact.

However, now that two blades of the rotor have broken, there is concern whether the $10 million, 1 MW, first of its kind is up to the task of supplying 25 percent of Nova Scotia's electricity. While repairs are undertaken, this has seen been as a big setback for the tidal power industry on top of concern that tidal power, for the cost involved, doesn't generate as much as solar and wind. However a report from the Electric Power Research Institute states that the predictability of tides will make tidal power cheaper, and that electricity in the Bay of Fundy could be as low as 5.5 cents a kWh - roughly comparable with the wholesale price of electricity.



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Old Posted Jul 17, 2010, 3:31 PM
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Is it me, or do a lot of the new tidal energy projects keep breaking their turbine blades because the water has more energy than expected? That happened to the project in the East River too.
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Old Posted Aug 23, 2010, 1:26 AM
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Australia should be powered by waves


20 August 2010

By Becky Crew



Read More: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3...-powered-waves

Quote:
If just 10% of the near-shore wave energy available along Australia's Southern coastline could be converted into electricity, half of the country's current electricity consumption would be met, say CSIRO scientists. Committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% of year 2000 levels by 2050, the Australian Government aims to produce 45,000 gigawatt-hours/year of additional renewable energy before 2020. "This total energy quota could be achieved using wave energy alone," said lead author Mark Hemer of the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Melbourne, "if 10% of the available wave energy resource over a 1,000km section of the Southern Australian margin were converted to electricity."

The study used long-term archives from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an operational wave model called WaveWatch III to measure significant wave height, peak wave period and peak wave direction, and The Simulating Waves Near-shore (SWAN) wave model to measure the spatial distribution of wave energy. Using the 10-year, six-hourly archives collected by WaveWatch III from 1997 to 2006, the researchers calculated spectral wave measurements along the South-Western Australian margin, which extends from Perth to Hobart to determine deep-water wave energy potential, publishing their findings in the Journal of Renewable Sustainable Energy.



Stretching from Perth to Tasmania is the best place to use wave energy resources.

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Old Posted Oct 1, 2010, 4:28 PM
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Waves of Power


Read More: http://www.physorg.com/news4142.html

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Whether witnessed as destructive waves, gently rolling swells or mesmerizing rhythms along the shoreline, the sea's energy is immense. In fact, experts estimate that just 0.2 percent of it - in the form of waves, tides, salinity and more - could power the entire world. Although the technology is 15-20 years behind that of wind energy, ocean power is a promising, clean energy source that is more predictable, available and energy-dense than wind is.

Led by Annette von Jouanne and Alan Wallace, engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) are tapping into the ocean's vast potential by developing ways to harness its energy to produce electricity: buoy systems that can generate power just by floating in the ocean's undulating swells. One such system, located one to two miles offshore, is called the permanent magnet linear generator buoy.

An electric coil surrounds a magnetic shaft inside the buoy, and while coil is secured directly to the buoy (see illustration), the magnetic shaft is anchored to the sea floor. When waves cause the coil to move up and down relative to the fixed magnetic shaft, voltage is induced and electricity is generated. Each buoy could potentially produce 250 kilowatts of power, and the technology can be scaled up or down to suit a variety of energy needs. A fleet of about 200 such buoys could power the business district of downtown Portland.



Image: Ocean-buoy generators, like the one illustrated, promise to convert the movement of waves into energy. Voltage is induced when waves cause coils located inside the buoy to move relative to the magnetic field of the anchored shaft. This process generates electricity. Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation

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Old Posted Apr 3, 2011, 8:05 PM
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San Onofre wave farm idea churns up concerns


March 30, 2011

By Tony Barboza

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2422377.story

Quote:
The waves off San Onofre have for generations beckoned surfers and sport fishermen to a wild stretch of coastline in the shadow of domed nuclear reactors. Now, an Orange County entrepreneur wants to tap the power of that legendary surf in a novel but highly controversial plan to build one of the nation's first hydrokinetic wave farms. Federal energy regulators have given JD Products of Fountain Valley permission to begin a three-year study looking at the feasibility of installing thousands of ocean wave electricity generators a mile off San Onofre State Beach. The firm's general manager, Chong Hun Kim, said he chose the site because it is close to transmission lines that serve the San Onofre nuclear power plant. Kim said he hopes to connect offshore generators to the power grid through underwater cables and sell power to the plant's operator, Southern California Edison.

The idea would be to connect the wave farm to San Onofre's transmission lines without going through the nuclear power plant, which has been under added scrutiny in light of Japan's massive tsunami and radiation crisis. To surfers, conservationists and fishing groups that fiercely protect San Onofre as one of the California coast's natural treasures, Kim's idea is a half-baked proposal that has so far ignored potential impacts on wildlife, surf patterns and even training exercises at the nearby Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Environmental groups, which are broadly supportive of renewable energy projects, said putting the devices in the waters of San Onofre could harm marine life and potentially mar the view from the coastline. Surfers are worried it would dampen waves and alter seafloor terrain along a stretch of coast famed for its surf breaks. Sport-fishing groups said a wave farm could block off favored waters for sand bass, bonito and barracuda fishing. "It seems like a silly idea," said Michael Hansen, owner of Dana Wharf Sportfishing. "It would pretty much shut down a huge area of productive fishing. If it did go in, it would bum us out."

.....



A dog and its owner play on San Onofre State Beach. Several wave energy projects have been proposed off the California coast, but most have faltered. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Old Posted May 11, 2012, 4:13 PM
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Seeing Source of Electricity in Water Pipes


May 8, 2012

By JIM DWYER

Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/ny...urce.html?_r=2

Quote:
The water that comes out of taps in New York City runs downhill 125 miles from the Catskill Mountains, every last drop the product of 19th-century genius and scheming that made the modern metropolis possible. Now comes a new proposition for what is arguably the world’s greatest urban water system: people are trying to figure out if, on its way to your shower, the water can also drive turbines and make electricity.

- If it works out, and there are many reasons it might not, hydroelectric power harvested from the city’s water mains could be a renewable source of carbon-free power, like solar and wind. But unlike those sources, this one would be completely predictable. Powered only by gravity, nearly a million gallons of water rushes into the city every minute. From streams dammed in the hills and mountains north of the city, the flow moves with such force that even as it branches into pipes that run down every street, it rises to a height of six stories on pure momentum. Below that, most buildings need no pumps.

- As that pressure drops, energy is released. Now the city will study whether it can capture it and turn it into electricity, under a bill sponsored by Mr. Gennaro and signed into law last week by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The raw physics are seductive. Still, reality also gets a vote. No one doubts the tremendous power of that water flow, least of all the guardians of the water system in the city’s Department of Environmental Protection. But they are openly skeptical about whether there are practical uses for it. For one thing, the valves are in the middle of the streets. Electricity generated there would have to make its way to the grid, unless there was some use for it in the street.

- THE city’s water stewards have said that space is already very tight below the streets, with its honeycomb of subway tunnels, water pipes, sewage lines, electrical and fiber optic and other utility cables, transformers and assorted gizmos. “It does not seem prudent to encroach upon and deplete this valuable underground real estate for unproven benefit,” Anthony J. Fiore, a deputy commissioner, testified last year. Mr. Zammataro, 54, who grew up in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, began thinking about water power after the Sept. 11 attacks, when the small wireless company he was working for downtown had to move temporarily to Times Square.

- Every drop of water that flows into New York City also flows out: unlike the clean water supply, the sewage plants require tremendous amounts of power, and some of it is coming from the methane gas released by the sewage. At least one of Mr. Gennaro’s estimates about potential power has been about 200 times too high, officials said. Still, he noted that the new study was agreed to by the mayor. It is due in 18 months. “We have a green administration, a green Council, and I want to make sure that when we leave, we have a lot of homework assignments for the next ones,” Mr. Gennaro said.

.....
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Old Posted May 16, 2012, 1:31 AM
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Floating “Power Buoy” Creates Electricity from Ocean Waves


May 14, 2012

Read More: http://scitechdaily.com/floating-pow...m-ocean-waves/

Quote:
In an effort to harness the power of ocean waves, engineers designed and built a floating “power buoy” that measures 8 feet across, 10 feet wide and 18 feet long. The buoy uses the upward and downward motion of waves, combined with the weight of a metal plate, to move a hydraulic piston, resulting in electricity.

MBARI engineer Andy Hamilton looks out his office window in Moss Landing and points at the waves crashing on the beach below. “Pretty impressive, aren’t they? You’d think there’d be a way to make use of all that energy.” Since 2009, Hamilton has led a team of engineers trying to do just that. Their goal is not to replace the hulking power plant that overlooks Moss Landing Harbor, but to provide a more generous supply of electricity for oceanographic instruments in Monterey Bay.

Hamilton’s “power buoy” project is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which sponsors research into revolutionary new technologies that might one day be used by the U.S. military. The project started with a three-month grant to assess the availability of wave power around the world, and to assess DARPA’s previous attempts to generating electrical power from the waves. Hamilton’s initial research and calculations showed that DARPA’s previous efforts had been too timid—their small prototype buoys were never able to take advantage of the full energy of the waves. So Hamilton proposed to “go big” (but not as big as commercial wave-power projects).

.....



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Old Posted Jun 7, 2012, 4:15 PM
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Airborne Wind Energy

There are a number of tethered wind energy schemes out there this was seems to have some "legs".

http://www.makanipower.com/
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