Breakthroughs, Inventions, Discoveries & Pioneering Efforts in the Field of Ocean Energy

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Ocean Energy

Ocean Energy - Inventions, Research, Innovations, Breakthroughs

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1. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) - Indeed, the Earth has an enormous natural Solar collector - the tropical oceans. "On an average day, 60 million square kilometers (23 million square miles) of tropical seas absorb an amount of solar radiation equal in heat content to about 250 billion barrels of oil." Energy "equivalent to at least 4000 times the amount presently consumed by humans." If we can tap into this renewable source, considering thermodynamics and entropy, approximately 1% of it could provide the entire current worldwide demand for energy. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a technology that can extract useful work from Solar Energy stored in the sea. Since the sea IS the energy storage medium, OTEC offers 'always on' baseline supply - during bright clear days and dark nights, in still air and ferocious Wind storms - without the expense and complications of artificial energy storage systems. Read more from this June 2006 article from Energy Bulletin
2. Wave Farm Planned to Harvest Ocean Energy - SolarAccess.com - December 29, 2003 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Minnesota-based energy technology company Independent Natural Resources Inc. (INRI) has successfully tested its new system for transferring ocean-wave power into renewable energy. Conducted in a Wave tank at Texas A&M University's Offshore Technology Research Center, INRI's tests validate the results of several years of concepts and planning, showing the company's "Seadog" wave-pump technology has the potential to serve as a viable source of renewable power by harvesting renewable power from ocean waves. To further prove the wave pump's viability, INRI is now looking to create a "wave farm" test field in a coastal area capable of providing consistent ocean swells -- a concept similar to electricity-generating "wind farms."  More from this Dec 2003 report
3. Ocean Renewable Energy Group (OREG), Canada - The goal of The Ocean Renewable Energy Group (OREG) is to align industry, academia and government to ensure that Canada is a leader in providing ocean energy solutions to a world market. OREG is a national organization, with over 70 Canadian and international members.
4. Wind's energy transfer to ocean quantified for first time – News release at Eureka Alert, 5-Mar-2003 - Breakthrough could help resolve serious problems in oceanography and climate research - Scientists at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California-Irvine have finally been able to field-test theories about how wind transfers energy to ocean waves, a topic of debate since the 19th century that had previously proved impossible to settle experimentally. The new results may help lead the way to the resolution of a longstanding problem in scientists' understanding of how energy and momentum are exchanged between the atmosphere and the oceans. Scientists have shown that interactions between wind and the surface of the ocean creates waves of varying sizes, from the waves that crash ashore at a beach to the waves that imperil ships at sea during storms. They have also demonstrated that waves can grow by extracting energy from the wind. However, when they tried to bring together models for atmospheric dynamics and ocean circulation, the ocean models suggested that the atmosphere should contribute much more energy to the ocean than the atmospheric models seem to suggest the atmosphere could possibly provide. The new findings in Nature could potentially help scientists improve climate modeling research by further refining their picture of energy flow between the atmosphere and the ocean. They will also help efforts to improve prediction of weather and wave activity. See link above for more on this news release.
5. New Wave-Pump Technology Successfully Hits the Water and Captures Energy from Waves - Independent Natural Resources Inc. (INRI(TM)) pioneers new SEADOG(TM) technology in the Gulf of Mexico, offering power generation from renewable source of ocean waves
1. MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 15, 2007?? /PRNewswire/ -- Minnesota-based energy technology company Independent Natural Resources Inc. (INRI) announced it is successfully operating and testing its new ocean wave conversion system in the Gulf of Mexico, off of Surfside, Texas. The versatile SEADOG pump system can provide abundant fresh water when combined with desalination and produce clean renewable energy when combined with hydroelectric systems.
2. Current testing in the Gulf of Mexico validates the results of several years of concepts and planning, showing the company's SEADOG wave-pump technology's potential to serve as a viable source of renewable power - from ocean waves.
3. SEADOG captures ocean-wave energy from swells or waves to pump large volumes of seawater to shore-based storage or sea-based platform systems while consuming no fuel. While there are many possible applications for the SEADOG pump, INRI is currently developing seawater desalination systems and hydroelectric energy generation.
4. See the full press release here
6. Waves run this power plant - Jan 2, 2001 MSNBC - Oceans are seen as a powerful and profitable source of energy.

1. Waves inside a bunker off the Scottish coast create air drafts, which turn blades inside the green turbine. The energy generated is sold to two utilities.
2. Wavegen has created the world's first commercial wave power plant, and it's been producing enough electricity to light 400 homes.
3. Researchers are also looking at the possibility of offshore wave power plants.
4. A new attempt will be made by Sea Power, a Swedish company, which plans to install a floating wave power “vessel” off the Shetland Islands in 2002.
5. More from this Jan 2001 news report
   

Pictures

Look at the power and energy contained in an ocean wave

An illustration of ocean thermal energy conversion 

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