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  • From: Martin Naylor <martinwnaylor@yahoo.com.au>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Waves: The Next Wave in Clean, Green Power
  • Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 10:33:54 +1000 (EST)

This is also being done in Wollongong, and who knows how many other places, I
saw David Suzuki a couple of years ago and he gets up and says yea i got to
Wollongong and they where doing the same water experiment [not wave energy]
we are doing at a Canadian Uni
This seems to be one of the biggest problems with Uni's duplicating
experiments for control of information
Martin

Saor Stetler <saor@ycbtal.net> wrote:

Published on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 by the lnter Press Service

Waves: The Next Wave in Clean, Green Power
by Enrique Gili


SAN DIEGO, California - Oregon's spectacular coastline could become the
United States' center for wave energy development in coming years, with
plans underway to install power buoys in locations with enough potential
to meet the state's future energy needs.

Electrical engineers at Oregon State University are developing
electricity-generating buoys they believe will be a key component for
clean, green wave power. Their objective is to convert the Pacific
Ocean's heavy rolling swell into a renewable energy resource., relying
on buoys to harness the near constant rise and fall of waves to produce
electricity.

"Waves generate energy through motion," said Dr. Annette von Jouanne, an
electrical engineering professor at Oregon State University (OSU).

The OSU project is part of a renewed global effort to investigate wave
and tidal power as a potential source of alternative energy, she noted.

"Oregon is an ideal location," von Jouanne added in an interview.

Along Oregon's 460 kilometers of open coastline, waves average 1.5
meters high during the summer months and 3.5 meters during the winter.

To achieve their goals, von Jouanne and her colleagues at OSU have
designed several types of power buoys, including oscillating linear
generators they refer to as "direct drive" technology.

"The devices directly convert the linear motion of the wave into
electrical energy without any hydraulic or pneumatic stages," von
Jouanne said.

The upshot is a submersible buoy that can produce electricity without
the risk of corrosive salt water wreaking havoc on its internal parts,
and which is capable of withstanding the constant wear and tear of
moving water that causes most machines to break down.

The buoy is composed of copper wire sheathed around a magnetic shaft
made from high-density, rare earth materials, housed in a watertight
chamber that forms an impermeable barrier. Tethered to the ocean floor
with a heavy cable, the shaft remains fixed in place as the outer
section bobs up and down in the water. That motion, coupled with a
magnet moving through the center of a copper coil, generates electricity.

Today, wave energy is undergoing a revival not seen since the OPEC
energy crisis of the 1970s. At that time, ocean energy enjoyed a brief
period of notoriety, as oil supplies slumped and the price of crude
skyrocketed. However, interest waned as prices for fossil fuels dropped
and incentives to develop alternative energy supplies evaporated.

"Wave energy is still in its infancy," said Justin Klure, a senior
energy advisor for Oregon State. In order for ocean energy resources to
be viable, advances need to be made in the technology and wave energy
must be made affordable to consumers, he said.

Nevertheless, Oregon is committed to developing renewable energy
resources in order to cut overall greenhouse gas emissions and reduce
the state's dependency on hydropower and fossil fuels. In the long term,
25 percent of Oregon's energy supply will come from wave, solar, and
wind power, Klure said.

These efforts reflect renewed interest in the United States and
elsewhere to use wave and tidal power to reduce fossil fuel dependency
and to develop alternative sources of energy. Energy experts claim that
harnessing just 0.2 percent of the ocean's untapped energy would meet
the entire planet's power needs.

Currently several energy projects are underway to test the feasibility
of wave and power in Hawaii, Portugal and England. Klure compares wave
power favourably to wind technology when that industry was in its
earliest stages of development 15 years ago. When specialists began
advocating the use of wind power for large-scale energy projects,
modern-day wind farms were a promising though untested technology.

Initially, wind turbines were expensive to produce and unwieldy. Over
time, their fabrication, design and efficiency improved dramatically.

With the development of von Jouanne's prototypes and plans for a wave
farm near Gardiner, Oregon hopes to become the epicenter for a new
industry focusing on wave technology. Not only will Oregon become less
dependent on fossil fuel and hydropower, but in the process become the
"Boeing" corporation of wave energy technology, bringing investment and
jobs to the region, said Klure.

Western Oregon's paucity of sunshine also makes wave technology
appealing to state regulators. Water is 800 more times dense than air so
the amount of energy extractable from ocean power is exponentially that
much greater. Also, when compared to wind and solar power, waves are
more consistent. Incoming swell can be predicted with 80 percent
accuracy and is virtually constant.

A buoy measuring three meters high, bobbing up and down in the ocean,
could produce 250 kilowatts per unit -- meaning a modest-sized network
of about 200 buoys could illuminate the downtown business district of
Portland.

Theoretically, a grid of wave farms established along Oregon's shoreline
could produce most if not all of the state's energy needs. However, the
state's renewable energy objectives are far more modest, with an overall
goal to produce 500 megawatts of wave power within 20 years.

However, plans for wave power remain just that. Before wave farms are
fully implemented, renewable energy has to be balanced with concerns
over the impact on marine resources and the effect on tourism and the
recreation industry.

Power buoys could pose their own unforeseen threat to wildlife. If those
concerns are dealt with, Oregon's clean green wave power could lead the
nation in developing renewable energy resources.

This story is part of a series of features on sustainable development by
IPS and IFEJ - International Federation of Environmental Journalists.

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There is no consciousness or unconsciousness, there is only awareness, Love
and Freedom are states, every Human has a right to be in Love and Freedom
every Human has a right to shelter food clean water and clothing.All
psychological thought is a waste of energy, Martin





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