Underwater Ocean Currents Used to Power Bermuda

Saevio writes to tell us The Royal Gazette is reporting that Bermuda is planning to sink a power generator off the coast to take advantage of ocean currents. The company providing the service, Belco predicts that they will be able to provide approximately 10 percent of the island's energy needs. From the article: "The 150ft long deep sea generator with a four-blade turbine inside would cut Belco's dependency on oil and also benefit the environment by cutting future fuel emissions, he added, stating that the company needed to increase its generating capacity before 2010. Mr. Madeiros, who hailed the technology 'mind-boggling', said: 'This is cutting edge technology, not used anywhere else. One can't help but get excited by this technology.'"

Comments

Won't this slow down the current?

[aapold]

I mean, the energy that otherwise would keep pushing warm gulf stream water towards Europe, that's going to be harnassed by Bermuda...

Does this not risk at slightly lowering the temperature of Europe?

I mean you never know the full consequences... I know, we have global warming to offset that, but still... (and these diverted warmer waters will linger in the southern atlantic, so mean global temperature is still the same...)

Re:Won't this slow down the current?

[scheming daemons]

Imagine a cookie crumb on your living room floor. That's the relationship that Bermuda has to the Atlantic ocean.

Now, imagine a speck of dust 1/100th the size of the cookie crumb in your living room. That's the relationship of this turbine generator to the Atlantic ocean.

This turbine generator off the coast of Bermuda will have the same effect on the Atlantic ocean currents that the above-mentioned speck of dust will have on the wind currents in your living room.

So small as to not even be measurable.

Re:Won't this slow down the current?

[prionic6]

So lets say, for a perspective... How many of these turbines are needed to generate 100% of the planets energy need? Or 1%? And how much energy do you have to take out of the gulf stream for an effect on temperature in europe? Or any other effect? 10%, 1% or 0.1%? How much is that in GW?

It is easy to see that one device like this will make no difference. But it is not easy to see how far you can go.

Hoping the company lives up to promises

[ursabear]

From TFA:Asked about the potential impact on Bermuda's unique reefs, she said the efficient generator would have a "very low" environmental impact and said the noise produced by the generator would be "very, very quiet" and would not impact sea creatures. She said the unit would be sunk past the first layer of marine life, and fish below that level would be able to safely swim through it. An electric cable would link the substation to the generator under the sand.

I guess this means that the generator blades spin slowly enough that the fish just swim around the blades? My first thoughts before RTFA were concerns for the reef's health. I would hope that they would design it such that it would not cause a sort of in-the-ocean-current observer effect.

I'd like to see the opining of those with some physics or ocean dynamics experience.

It sounds like a great idea... I wish we had lots more three finkers out there trying to make power in new ways.

Re:how fast

[Rei]

Probably a fraction of one RPM. Not to mention that most fish have pressure-sensitive organs, and they flee from unexpected motion.

My worries would be about the effects of sapping gulf stream energy (that is what this is using, right?) would have on the stream. This is probably a tiny fraction of it's total energy, but if this sort of thing becomes widespread, it can only serve to slow the vital gulf stream (climate regulation, mineral distribution, etc).

Can they install 9 more?

[davidwr]

That way they'd furnish all their power needs.

Morons!

[RecycledElectrons]

The issue is not hurting fish! Velocity has to be relative to something. From the fish's perspective, the turbine's velocity is relative to the ocean's water. A 150 foot long turbine will spin close to the speed of the ocean water. It will have less velocity vs. ocean water than will a coral reef!

The issue is not stopping the currents! An island in this location would scarcely be noticed, and the turbine will do MUCH less than an island to stop the ocean's flow!

At least it's far enough down to not get destroyed by the first tropical storm. OTOH, anything poking near the surface will get smashed regularly.

The issue is...one turbine generates 10% of the power for an island...and then it gets rusty. He he he....maintenance is a b!tch, then she gets PMS. Imagine loosing 10% of your generation capacity instantly.

Most waves only travel along the surface...I wonder what a good, strong underwater (tsunami-type) wave would do to it?

Andy Out!

Re:NO, IT WON'T.

[joggle]

I would like to see that number in context though. How much energy is lost due to fixed objects on the ground? (forests, buildings) It would be interesting to try adjusting the ground resistence in a weather model to see what the effect would be of having a large number of wind turbines. Any atmospheric science students/graduates out there willing to play with their weather models?

effects could be catastrophic

[TRRosen]

We have no ideal what this could do. This is not like a windmill which pull energy from surface winds. This is akin to a 10,000 foot high windmill placed directly in the jet stream. This is also not like tidal or wave generators for the same reasons those devices capture energy that would have been expended by waves crashing on shore and slowly eroding beaches. This device will pull energy from currents that effect weather and climate world wide. If it were just to shift the current a few miles on the east coast it could shift the currents hundreds of miles in the north sea dramiticly changing regional climates. Also note that even the biggest aircraft carriers have no effect on these currents as the ships sit less then 10 meters below the water.