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RE: [cdn-nucl-l] " Norway tries underwater 'windmills' "
I heard an interesting talk at last year's Pacific NW Numerical Analysis Seminar by a Canadian fluid dynamicist/oceanographer, working for one of the Canadian Oceanography agencies. He and colleagues had analyzed the impact on tidal flows around Vancouver Island of an array of such underwater turbines. Essentially, the question being asked was how much energy could be extracted from the tidal flows with causing "significant" changes to the flow patterns and to the parts of the biosphere that depend on the flows.
I would have to dig into my archives to refresh my memory, but there were limits.
Best regards.
Jim Dukelow
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, WA
jim.dukelow@pnl.gov
These comments are mine and have not been reviewed and/or approved by my management or by the U. S. Department of Energy.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cdn-nucl-l-admin@informer2.cis.McMaster.CA [mailto:cdn-nucl-l-admin@informer2.cis.McMaster.CA] On Behalf Of Jaro
> Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 2:35 PM
> To: multiple cdn
> Subject: [cdn-nucl-l] " Norway tries underwater 'windmills' "
>
> Something weird with the numbers in this article... (installed capacity, for one, seems very small, even assuming a low CF).
>
> ...but they sure don't mince words, when they state flatly that "Aboveground windmills, by contrast, are useless in calm weather and have to be built to withstand hurricane-force winds."
>
> Wonder what the maintenance list includes... cleaning barnacles off the blades ?
>
> Jaro
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> http://www.msnbc.com/news/969748.asp
> Norway tries underwater > '> windmills> '>
> Tides turn blades, providing power to local homes
>
> OSLO, Sept. 22 - Homes on the Arctic tip of Norway are getting power from the moon via a unique underwater power station driven by the rise and fall of the tide. Caused by the gravitational tug of the moon on the earth, a tidal current near the town of Hammerfest is turning the 30-foot blades of a turbine bolted to the seabed to generate electricity for the local grid.
>
> THE PROTOTYPE looks like an underwater windmill and is expected to generate about 700,000 kilowatt hours of non-polluting energy a year, or enough to light and heat about 30 homes.
> > "> This is the first time in the world that electricity from a tidal current has been fed into a power grid,> "> Harald Johansen, managing director of Hammerfest Stroem, told Reuters.
>
<snip>