New technology harnessing wave energy offers solutions for providing electricity and drinking water to Australia’s major cities. The technology…works through fields of submerged buoys tethered to seabed pumps.The buoys move in harmony with the motion of the passing waves, pumping pressurised seawater to shore to run turbines and pass through a desalination plant.
“The constancy of the waves even when the surface is dead calm means that you can build a base load renewable energy power station and that is really the holy grail for us, if you can produce renewable energy 24/7,” Macfarlane told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
After successful trials, the CETO system, was on track to begin full scale deployment off southern capital cities in 2009, said Carnegie managing director, Michael Ottaviano.
All of Australia’s southern mainland cities’ current water needs could be satisfied by CETO units covering an area of 155 hectares (about 70 football fields) of sea floor at around 75 percent of the price of current desalination projects, the statement said.
In addition, the “Wave Farms” would generate around 300 megawatts of zero-emission power, enough for about 300,000 households.
The CETO system should be up and running at full capacity by 2012.
Anyone surprised that a nation with a conservative government still works with industry and science and comes up with alternative energy solutions? Do you think that having a parliament that isn’t 99% owned by the Oil Patch Boys has anything to do with it?
Wow!! This is really cool. I love the dual use of power generation and desalinization. I think it’s great to get some good news on the climate change front for a change.
This idea seems kind of dumb. I’ve seen other renewable ideas involvig the ocean (I think some of them are in place) but it doesn’t seem like, long term, any of them will ever pay off. It seems to me that these are all high-maintenance ideas built more for appeasing the public with ‘alternative energy’ (so people think stuff is getting done when nothing useful is really happening. I’d think that one good storm would wreak having on a bouy-field (or the propeller field).
One that I thought was pretty good was in France where they use the tides to fill a basin and when the tide goes down the release the water through turbines to generate power. Still, it seems like it’d be more efficient to just build a nuclear plant there instead in terms of capacity and output.
Government owned by oil comment:
I know people like to say this as if Bush wakes up each morning and sets the gas prices for the day while having a cup of coffee but if you look at it our government (and the people, in general) are very anti-oil. Basically our government makes it so impossible for the oil companies to do much of anything here that we have to go pump oil out of foreign soil and rely on the same refinery capacities that have been in place since the early 1980s. Then we tell them we want a specific blend for each major city, without any sort of thought whatsoever that maybe we do do this all with one or two blends for pollution purposes. We make it so impossible for them to do anything but go elsewhere and, in the same breath, we complain about getting our oil from overseas, and complain about high gas prices all the while heading into the convenience store to buy water at $6+ a gallon when we have the cleanest water in the world. It’s dumb.
For those who think our government should fund alternative energy sources – As I’ve said before: It’s not their job. More importantly, none of them mean anything until the cost of the current energy source gets high enough (naturally, not through taxation) to warrant it. It’s like you want an alternative energy source but want someone else to foot the bill. The mentality is, “I want someone else to come up with it and bear the expense of developing it and then I want buy it cheap.”
If you think alternative energy is a great idea – go do it. Put some solar panels on your roof, buy a grease-car, etc. Do something with your own money to support the cause.
#2 – Brad Bishop,
I’m sorry I know of no less offensive way to say this, but I do think your severely misinformed. Right now, our government is subsidizing oil companies at over a dollar a gallon, not to mention defending the oil fields from potential terrorism here and abroad. Here’s a link to an old article on the real cost of gasoline. I know it’s 9 years old and may seem irrelevant due to the time factor. Maybe it is. But, if so, it is outdated only in that the numbers are far far worse today than they were then.
http://tinyurl.com/ytblyt
I’ve posted this many times here before, so those who’ve seen it before need not bother with it again, obviously.
As for tidal power generation, New York City is doing some with turbine and has gotten excellent results from it. Storms at the surface have not affected the turbines below.
Lastly, as for nuclear power, there are a number of issues. However, for your argument, the most important is that it costs billions to build a single reactor. The only reason nuclear power seems at all competitive with other power generation is that it is hugely subsidized by the governments of the countries that use it. It is genuinely the most expensive power source we have.
Further, approval and construction take so long that it can not possibly be a significant help in global warming. We will cross the tipping point before any significant number of reactors could be built.
Finally, nuclear waste and the risk of terrorism are huge factors that cannot be discounted. We already have more waste that Yucca Mountain could hold if it were ever opened. And, protecting nuclear plants from terrorism is difficult. A single failure to do so might cost millions of lives.
So, as for government subsidies for renewable energy, if you don’t want to subsidize them, then at least let’s stop subsidizing the destructive energy sources we use today and let a free market show that renewables are actually cheaper.
I apologize if the strength of these remarks offends you. It is not my intent. However, I really do think you should read up some more on some of these topics.
It’s nice to see a country where science isn’t held in contempt
Brad,
Where DID you come up with such utter nonsense?
#2
Well, their beaches are loaded with jellyfishes so they have to find an alternate way of exploiting a pretty but useless landscape.
#2, Brad, This idea seems kind of dumb.
OK, I give up, you get my nomination for Hop’s UUKKMA. 1 vote here, and Russkies are just idiots, right?
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=10965
#4, Scott, Further, approval and construction [of a nuclear plant] takes so long that it can not possibly be a significant help in global warming. We will cross the tipping point before any significant number of reactors could be built.
You could be right, but at least the NRC hasn’t screwed up since TMI. All energy [except radioactive elements] comes from the sun (or lunar tides), and until we find a way to harness that energy efficiently, we’re locked into the oil / coal / gas corps. We need nuclear fission / fusion power, or at least affordable solar / lunar power. Somehow I doubt that Exxon/Mobil is really working on that on a daily basis.
*Sigh* must be nice to live in a country where science and technology march forward and are used to solve problems, as opposed to an oogah-boogah country that worships invisible deities in the sky and refuses to allow technological advances to actually benefit the people.
#8 – BubbaRay,
Nuclear is more expensive than any other form of energy as well. Also, don’t forget terrorism and nuclear waste. While we’re at it, for nuclear energy to make a real difference we need about 25 times the number of nuclear power plants that we have today. And, many will not be in stable democratic countries. So, the risk of terrorism increases, and so does the risk of additional nations with nuclear weapons. I really think you may be missing some of the serious risks of nuclear power. Even so though, the cost is far more prohibitive than wind, solar, and tidal, and probably geothermal as well. The first three have the potential to really make a huge difference. Please don’t ignore the problems of nuclear power.
>I really think you may be missing some of the serious risks of nuclear power.
Yeah, these risks are why you don’t find nuclear power plants as the backbones of energy supplies in France, Japan and other countries. Oh wait, they use plenty of nuclear power there, as do many states here.
If government is bending over backwards for the oil companies, then why aren’t they opening up ANWAR for drilling? And why pass CAFE standards for cars? And why no new oil refineries?
#4 All great points.
#10, Scott, no disagreement, like I said, we need more efficient ways of getting power from the Sun (or lunar tides.) Just getting rid of the nuclear waste is an environmental nightmare. When the efficiency of solar panels hits the magic number of about 20-25% we’re in the money (assuming similar costs per panel today.)
Here’s a cool site for solar power:
http://www.solarexpert.com/pvbasics2.html
Did you see this extreme new hydrogen tech? Maybe adios to gasoline?
http://www.physorg.com/news98556080.html
There were 2 signal problems with the development of nuclear power in the U.S.:
1. Unlike most Euro systems, we didn’t go with breeder reactors. The nuclear waste from breeder systems is a fraction of the good old U.S. preference.
2. Our systems were premised upon being cash cows for G.E. and Westinghouse.
Neither premise was especially productive or useful. They did make a hell of a lot of money for investors – for a couple of decades. Isn’t that what’s important?
Just an idle question,
Could a similar system be used in the Gulf Coast to pump cool water below the surface up to the surface, thus causing any hurricanes that pass over the cooler water to suddenly lose energy and do a lot less damage?
OK,
Question…
WHAT is the meaning of CHEAP…
We already KNOW that CHEAP means tha power company can gouge us for power, so that those on top, can play Golf 365 days a year, AROUND the world. And still have money to pay for Family, and schooling for 10 kids…
GAS is a Cheap resource, and they make MORE money on it, that the rest of us are puking our Guts out.
#14…Moss….your first point is right on. Actually so is your second…lol
France gets approximatly 25 to 30% of it’s power from Nuke plants, plus they are goverment owned, so no actual shareholders demanding obscene profits.
Being conservative I tend to favor private inititive over goverment intervention……but in the area of power and the enviroment, to name 2 areas, I think they have to lead the way. If we ended subsidies for oil companies and used the money to promote cleaner power sources, sun, wind, tidal and nuclear, it would be fine by me.
Also instituting a nationwide high speed train system like France and other countries in Europe would be a fantastic idea. Clean travel, fast and effcient.
But, we may as well believe in magic lanterns waiting for our lawmakers to go against the hands that feed them. And it really dosen’t matter who is President or which party is in power.
Anyone surprised that a nation with a conservative government still works with industry and science and comes up with alternative energy solutions?
The Howard Government does not have a very good reputation when it comes to science or conservation (the only time mention is made of global warming is when they are promoting nuclear power stations, for example). But there is an election looming and they are getting killed in the polls, partially because a decade of denial has made them look like idiots.
Lets look at this from a sci view…
We may see in the 3D, and 4D is the realm of TIME…
I think those in charge are VERY near sighted, and look to OTHERS for options.. Others that have ALTERNATIVE views, and look at MONEY in the NOW, and profit in Large amounts rather then a conTinuous Flow of money, they want it NOW.
Any one surprised that a Nation that was the most advanced in the 1940’s has fallen behind, and not advanced much sence the 70’s???
something I have seen in my time on this planet, is that the Future looks ALOT like the past. Except that the cost of LIFE is getting more expencive.
In the last 10 years.
Nat gas, for heating has gone up almost 1/2
Gas for fuel has gone up AT LEAST 1/2
Electrical has gone up 1/3
Water prices have gone up(HERE) about 2.5 times…(City negligence).
Wages??
Journeyman wages, top wages in most places Havent risen in over 10 years if NOT longer.
Is it an interesting idea:
That ALL of a corp/company get paid the SAME wage, all the way up to the OWNERS/CEO/and soforth….Profits go to R&D, stockholders, and BACK to the public.
Is this the same Wave Power Solutions Inc. company that was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in the united Ststes of America ? If so I hold 5000 fully paid non-assessable shares of the above Corportation. Please let me know.
Thank you, Lloyd