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The World's First Osmotic Power Plant
ElectricSteve writes "Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway officially opened the world's first osmotic power plant prototype on November 24. The prototype has a limited production capacity and will be used primarily for testing and data validation, leading to the construction of a commercial power plant in a few years time. Statkraft claims that the technology has the global potential to generate clean, renewable energy equivalent to China's total electricity consumption in 2002 or half of the EU's total power production" What's osmotic power? Wikipedia to the rescue!
I wonder if you could use the energy to power a desalination plant and then use the fresh water to power the.. hang on... I've gone cross eyed...
Unexpect the expected!
The power plant is at the ocean next to a river.
The river's fresh water runs into the ocean as it is. That's just how nature works. All this is doing is diverting some of the water into the power plant and mixing the water there. What they're doing is siphoning off gravity and osmotic pressure, and THOSE are the vital resources that will be depleted instead.
Don't worry, we'll use the power produced to run desalination plants.
What? thermody-whati-namics?
What they're doing is siphoning off gravity and osmotic pressure, and THOSE are the vital resources that will be depleted instead.
Typical short-sightedness. We're going to use up all our gravity, and then we'll float off into space! We've got to shut down this plant fast!
What they're doing is siphoning off gravity and osmotic pressure, and THOSE are the vital resources that will be depleted instead.
What ever will we do if we deplete the world's supply of gravity. Sure, this scheme might solve problems now, but in thirty years our children will have to deal with global floating.
Oh wait, Statkraft? Gosh, I thought they were talking about something important for a moment there.
Oh, well, if the theory is sound, then I don't see the problem with a large government/private sector cross over project in the New Orleans area.
Nucular power ain't safe if there're terr'ists that gonna blow it skyhigh or steal fuel to make a dirty bomb.
If it weren't for the U.S. authorities clever detective work we'd a had another 9/11 on our hands.
This is all being built next to Oslo's Fjords....
No wonder Slartibartfast won an award for them!
except where boats need to enter/exit riverways, and for that matter fish.
... you _should_ think of the fish ... they have children, too
Actually, I'd rather think of the bees, but then there are already too many sons of a bee ;)
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.