BioPower Systems is developing technologies to harness wave and tidal energy. Their conversion technology systems have been designed to mimic organisms that have been adapting to the marine environments for billions of years. The systems were created to act as if they are a part of the ocean. They can be mounted on the ocean floor to operate automatically without harming marine life. The bioWave, BioPower's wave power system, mimics the motions of sea plants. The blades oscillate back and forth to absorb energy. Under extreme conditions, the system automatically lies flat. The bioStream, their tidal power system, mimics the motion of Thunniform mode swimming species (sharks, tuna, mackerel, etc.). By moving back and forth as if it were swimming, the generator in the bioStream can create electricity. It can be aligning in any direction and because the design is modeled after naturally occurring marine species, it is streamlined.
I highly recommend checking out BioPower Systems' website. There are pictures and animations of each of the systems.
http://www.biopowersystems.com/
This sounds like a great idea! For one there is no visual downside considering it is under water as opposed to say wind energy. It seems like a lot of things could go wrong with this system especially under water and with high pressures. And we all know that critics will find a way to find the cons of this project considering the organisms that it might harm. I also wonder how much energy this system can actually harness compared to investing in solar or wind energy. But all in all it seems very innovative and a possible contributor to renewable energy in the future.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of harnessing tidal energy. Most systems that do it usually lie far under water, so they're out of sight and don't contaminate the beauty of their surrounding environment. They also claim to pose no threat to fish and other ocean life forms. However, the cost of manufacturing these machines, as well as the cost of installing and maintaining them on the ocean floor just seems like it would be high to me, not to mention risky. I have to agree with Seth's skepticism about the high pressures of the ocean floor. It seems like a lot of things could go wrong down there. It may not be worth the investment to build these generators to withstand such inhospitable conditions.
ReplyDeleteThis manufacturer also produces the bioStream, which is fixed to the bottom of a stream or river. This solves the pressure issue, but lets face it, plenty of things could go wrong in a flowing stream. Floating logs, fishing boats, water pollution, ect. But I guess it's up to BioPower to asses these risks and decide for themselves whether or not it's economically worth it.
Any type of energy that is currently being developed, we face many problems whether environmentally, efficiency-wise, cost-wise, and many other factors. Also, many ideas rise up to be considered to be an alternative energy. However, as many new ideas for alternative energy source arise, is it really beneficial for our society to try and develop and research the many arising ideas? Of course, we have to continue do research and try to see what is really efficient for our world today, but we should be wise in what we should support and fund.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I see from the website, it does not state the science behind the BioPower idea so I can't determine if this can be a good idea or not. But either way, at this rate, this project seems like it will take a while to fully develop. Will this be ready to be used efficiently by the time we run out of natural gas, coal, or even petroleum?