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Off the coast of Ireland, history was just made. While windpower is taking off, and could soon produce as much as 20% of America's power, harnessing energy from the ocean is still in it's infancy.
But recently Marine Current Turbines successfully completed the installation of the world's first megawatt-scale tidal turbine. And now we've got the first images of the turbine installed to prove it. The 1000 ton SeaGen tidal turbine was secured to the seabed and linked with Northern Ireland's electric grid. MCT will now spend about 12 weeks testing the capabilities of the turbine before regularly feeding power into the grid.
Tidal power has several advantages over wind. The power generation is more predictable (since you always know when the tide will turn) and it is believed that they will have less ecological impacts...since roads do not need to be built to them. There hasn't been enough data yet to determine what affects they will have on marine life.
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Orecon, a British wave energy company, has just pulled in a huge round of funding in preparation for their first installations in 2010. The company has developed a large buoy, 40 meters in diameter, that will float a few miles offshore. The buoy will be tethered to the sea floor in six places, and the rising and falling of the waves will power on-board generators.
Harnessing the power of waves to create electricity seems to be on the verge of viability. But there's one application of wave power that makes more sense than any others, yet I've never seen even a design, let alone a prototype, of a wave -powered boat.
As waves pass underneath the boat, two fins at the rear rise and fall, converting the wave's energy into "dolphin-like kicks." The waves will propel the boat at a maximum speed of five knots...not something to really be all that proud of, but we are talking about the first of its kind here.
