Ocean Wave Power via Buoys - Solutions for Hawaii and East Coast
Free, Unlimited Electricity Anyone?
The time is upon us for major changes in the way we approach our energy use and we have been caught flat-footed. The world needs solutions yesterday and many of the alternative energy options are either too expensive or the technology has not evolved enough to give us an efficient and effective solution today.
We should not sit and wait for these technologies to evolve or spend ourselves silly trying to meet demand. There is an answer to solve our energy problems available right now that is both efficient and relatively inexpensive, ocean wave power.
Buoys bob up and down in the water generating electricity that is sent back to shore in a cable running along the ocean floor. It is estimated that a ten mile by ten mile buoy farm will produce enough electricity to meet the current demands of the entire state of California which needs many nuclear power plants to try to keep up.
Power buoys should be purchased by the County of Hawaii to provide free power. Why should we have to pay someone for the power of our own waves? Hawaii has some of the most powerful waves in the world. Hawaii county has the opportunity to not only implement a new system but to also own the system.
THE HAWAI‘I COUNTY ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY PLAN states, "A 1992 report prepared for the Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism estimates that capturing just 5-10% of the total available offshore wave energy Hawai‘i Island could meet the total electricity demand in 1992. The underlying idea remains valid: the energy contained in the waves around the island is theoretically capable of supplying all or most of Hawai‘i County’s total electricity demand."
The County of Hawaii could buy the buoys outright and start a wave farm miles from shore, away from any shipping lanes, and run power lines on the ocean floor to the island. The buoys create fish friendly habitats and will help us re-build our native fish population at the same time. Think of each buoy as a typical oil well. The more we put out there, the more power we get. We could supply all the power needs of our island but the rest of the state as well.
The cost for this system would be small, maybe only a $25/year increase in property taxes for each home owner and $15/year for each vacant land parcel. That could be all the capital needed to get the project going. Wouldn't you pay that much to have an endless supply of electricity? Would you want to buy an electric car and stop buying gas altogether? It is easy to see why we would want the county to own and expand this system for the good of all of our local residents and businesses.
Think of the possibilities of free unlimited power for a moment. Our hotels could lower rates, we could stop burning coal for power, start manufacturing products that take a lot of power to produce, the island could eventually build a monorail system that would only carry the cost of maintenance and construction. The county could afford to clean and deliver water to everyone on the island with the proceeds of our energy exports.
Some may say we need to use solar power but it is far too expensive and inefficient to meet our level of need. Wind power requires the purchase of land and turbines could only be placed in certain areas. Ethanol, switch grass, or other agricultural forms of alternative energy are now exacerbating problems of global hunger. Ethanol is not a solution, they are another problem. Harnessing wave power means utilizing empty ocean wherever it is convenient.
More information can be seen online at http://www.oceanpowertechnologies.com. There you will find out how a power buoy company's buoy is powering a Marine Corps base on Oahu, Atlantic City, NJ, and Santona, Spain today. This energy solution is real and ready for wide-scale deployment. The real question is what would it take for us to make a change?
The time is upon us for major changes in the way we approach our energy use and we have been caught flat-footed. The world needs solutions yesterday and many of the alternative energy options are either too expensive or the technology has not evolved enough to give us an efficient and effective solution today.
We should not sit and wait for these technologies to evolve or spend ourselves silly trying to meet demand. There is an answer to solve our energy problems available right now that is both efficient and relatively inexpensive, ocean wave power.
Buoys bob up and down in the water generating electricity that is sent back to shore in a cable running along the ocean floor. It is estimated that a ten mile by ten mile buoy farm will produce enough electricity to meet the current demands of the entire state of California which needs many nuclear power plants to try to keep up.
Power buoys should be purchased by the County of Hawaii to provide free power. Why should we have to pay someone for the power of our own waves? Hawaii has some of the most powerful waves in the world. Hawaii county has the opportunity to not only implement a new system but to also own the system.
THE HAWAI‘I COUNTY ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY PLAN states, "A 1992 report prepared for the Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism estimates that capturing just 5-10% of the total available offshore wave energy Hawai‘i Island could meet the total electricity demand in 1992. The underlying idea remains valid: the energy contained in the waves around the island is theoretically capable of supplying all or most of Hawai‘i County’s total electricity demand."
The County of Hawaii could buy the buoys outright and start a wave farm miles from shore, away from any shipping lanes, and run power lines on the ocean floor to the island. The buoys create fish friendly habitats and will help us re-build our native fish population at the same time. Think of each buoy as a typical oil well. The more we put out there, the more power we get. We could supply all the power needs of our island but the rest of the state as well.
The cost for this system would be small, maybe only a $25/year increase in property taxes for each home owner and $15/year for each vacant land parcel. That could be all the capital needed to get the project going. Wouldn't you pay that much to have an endless supply of electricity? Would you want to buy an electric car and stop buying gas altogether? It is easy to see why we would want the county to own and expand this system for the good of all of our local residents and businesses.
Think of the possibilities of free unlimited power for a moment. Our hotels could lower rates, we could stop burning coal for power, start manufacturing products that take a lot of power to produce, the island could eventually build a monorail system that would only carry the cost of maintenance and construction. The county could afford to clean and deliver water to everyone on the island with the proceeds of our energy exports.
Some may say we need to use solar power but it is far too expensive and inefficient to meet our level of need. Wind power requires the purchase of land and turbines could only be placed in certain areas. Ethanol, switch grass, or other agricultural forms of alternative energy are now exacerbating problems of global hunger. Ethanol is not a solution, they are another problem. Harnessing wave power means utilizing empty ocean wherever it is convenient.
More information can be seen online at http://www.oceanpowertechnologies.com. There you will find out how a power buoy company's buoy is powering a Marine Corps base on Oahu, Atlantic City, NJ, and Santona, Spain today. This energy solution is real and ready for wide-scale deployment. The real question is what would it take for us to make a change?
Tags: Biofuel, Buoy, Cost, Damns, Hig, Hydro, Low, Nuclear, Ocean, Power, More…
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dan on -
Amen to that. I also think the Nanosolar technology could be a major solution. Noone seems to know much about that one either.
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Permalink Reply by Ray Phillips on -
Dan,
If I were to list the things I don't know much about, it would swamp the web site! The Pickens plan is specific to two things, but the members here are coming together with different ideas that go beyond what Mr. Pickens has started. What I've found is that the solutions to our energy problems are multiple, which gives me faith that we can move to cleaner technologies and break the domination of foreign oil.
I have learned much about new technologies through reading about an idea on this site, then going out on line and doing research. Now I'm going to look into nanosolar.
Keep the faith.
Ray
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Permalink Reply by Roger E. Sowell on -
DOE announced last week that it will invest up to $7.3 million in 14 research projects for advanced water power technologies, including hydropower, wave, tidal, and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). Combined with the cost share from the awardees, up to $18 million may be invested in these projects. Of these 14 selected projects, six were chosen to receive funding for technology development projects and six for market acceleration projects. Additionally, up to $2.5 million will be invested over the next 5 years in developing two national marine energy centers: the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, which will be run by a partnership between Oregon State University and the University of Seattle, and the National Renewable Marine Energy Center in Hawaii. Both facilities will support the development of wave and tidal energy in the United States.
Up to $600,000 will be invested over 2 years in six technology development projects. The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI) will receive funding to develop and deploy fish-friendly turbines for traditional hydropower systems. Two of the projects will focus on tidal power technologies, with Verdant Power, Inc. fabricating large, high-power, more cost-effective tidal hydropower rotors, and Oregon's Snohomish County Public Utility District conducting in-water testing of tidal flow technology in Puget Sound as a first step toward developing a commercial power plant. Two additional projects will focus on wave power technologies, with Pacific Gas and Electric Company researching, designing, and submitting license construction and operation applications for a tidal energy demonstration plant in Northern California, and Concepts ETI, Inc., developing an ocean wave converter power system that will be installed in Maui, Hawaii. The last of the projects will be run by Lockheed Martin Corporation and will validate manufacturing techniques for the coldwater pipes needed for ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems. OTEC projects work by using the difference in temperature between the warm, top layer of water and the cold, deeper levels of water to either power a turbine or directly create electricity.
Finally, up to $500,000 will be invested over 2 years in six market acceleration projects, led by EPRI; Georgia Tech Research Corporation; Re Vision Consulting, LLC; Pacific Energy Ventures, LLC.; PCCI, Inc.; and Science Applications International Corporation. Of these, the EPRI project will assess the wave energy resources in the United States and create a geographic database of the resources, Georgia Tech will assess the tidal energy resources in the United States, and the others will focus on siting practices and standards development for marine and hydrokinetic technologies.
source: www.eere.energy.gov weekly email dated 24 September 2008
see also: www.energy.gov/news/6554.htm
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Permalink Reply by Dan on
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That is great that you would add that you the conversation. I like to see all the efforts taking advantage of ocean power. It can be cheap for everyone if the systems are very long lasting.
Thanks for the news and input.
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