Two New Renewable Energy Technologies That Just Might Work

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Persevering with CleanTechnica’s by no means ending quest to maintain readers knowledgeable of recent developments on the planet of renewable vitality, we deliver you phrase of two new developments that clattered forth from the teletype machines in our state-of-the-art newsroom within the third sub-basement slightly below the manager gymnasium. The primary information flash got here from Fraunhoferthe extremely revered German know-how analysis group. The opposite is the O-Wind Sphere from O-Innovations that guarantees free electrical energy from prevailing breezes.

Undersea Storage For Renewable Power

Pumped hydro vitality storage has been round for many years. It’s a lot like hydroelectric energy besides as an alternative of simply harvesting the vitality in flowing water, it recaptures that water, pumps it again uphill, and reuses that to generate extra electrical energy later. Now, which will sound to some like a perpetual movement machine, which everyone knows is a scientific impossibility. Doesn’t it take extra vitality to pump the water again uphill than is created when it flows downhill?

The reply is, after all it does. The key sauce that makes the method economically possible is that the worth of electrical energy varies in line with availability and demand. At some occasions of the day, electrical energy prices extra as a result of demand is excessive. At different occasions, it prices much less as a result of demand is low. For those who can promote the electrical energy from a pumped hydro facility when the value is excessive, you may wait till the value is low to pump it again uphill. If correctly managed, it’s attainable to create earnings even when the the vitality equation is out of steadiness.

Pumped hydro has a variety of issues, nonetheless. One, it takes up a whole lot of room. Two, it can take years to construct a new pumped hydro facility. Three, new pumped hydro installations might be costly. Fraunhofer has what it thinks is a greater thought. Construct a bunch of huge concrete spheres and place them on the ground of the ocean at a depth of about 2000 ft. In accordance with NOAA, “The pressure increases about one atmosphere for every 10 meters of water depth. At a depth of 5,000 meters the pressure will be approximately 500 atmospheres or 500 times greater than the pressure at sea level.”

Now, expensive reader, work with me right here. It’s well-known that my mind turns to mush when confronted by mathematical challenges. 2000 ft is about 600 meters. 600 divided by ten is 60, so at that depth, the strain of the water exterior the sphere shall be 60 occasions larger than it’s at sea degree. Open a portal to let the ocean rush in, and it’ll have greater than sufficient power to spin a turbine to generate electrical energy.

The enterprise case for doing this is similar as it’s for pumped hydro. Make electrical energy when the value is excessive, pump the water again into the ocean when the value is low. Voila! Fraunhofer estimates the price of its system at $177 (€158) per kWh. By comparability, the Nationwide Renewable Power Laboratory in 2023 estimated the price of battery electrical storage at between $245 and $405 per kWh.

Fraunhofer calls its thought StEnSea — Saved Power within the Sea — and it has been growing the know-how since 2011. Now a pilot venture that can drop a ball 30 ft (9 m) in diameter into the ocean off of Lengthy Seaside California is about to start by the top of 2026. It’s anticipated to generate 0.5 MW of energy and have a capability of 0.4 MWh — sufficient to energy a typical US house for about 2 weeks. The west coast of the US was chosen as a result of the ocean ground drops off shortly. On the east coast, the continental shelf extends far to the east. One of many value concerns for StEnSea is how a lot electrical cable is required to attach the sphere to the shore.

Assuming the pilot venture is profitable, the subsequent purpose is to check bigger spheres 100 ft (30 m) in diameter. Fraunhofer calculates that StEnSea has a theoretical storage potential of 817,000 GWh, which might be sufficient to energy 75 million houses in Germany, France, and the UK for a few yr. In accordance with New Atlasthe US Division of Power has invested $4 million within the StEnSea venture. Readers are free to attract their very own conclusions about whether or not that monetary assist will proceed now that the fossil gas crowd owns two of the three branches of the US authorities.

The potential downsides to this know-how embrace the necessity to present safety for the undersea cables connecting the system to the mainland. This isn’t theoretical, because the NordStream pipeline explosion makes clear. Not solely that, Russia appears to have developed a fleet of ships that by some means all the time handle to pull their anchors within the speedy neighborhood of undersea cables.

O-Wind Sphere Higher Than Photo voltaic Panels?

Just like the Fraunhofer StEnSea venture, the O-Wind Sphere has been in improvement by O-Innovationss for a variety of years. On its web site, the corporate says, “As the global population grows, our cities also increase in height and density, receiving less sunlight and experiencing more wind at ground level. To generate the necessary energy for our cities locally, we must harness this strong and chaotic wind. The O-Wind is the first truly omni-directional wind turbine specifically designed to address this challenge, making it perfect for urban use.”

The O-Wind received the Dyson Award in 2018, prompting James Dyson to say, “The O-Wind Turbine takes the enormous challenge of producing renewable energy and using geometry it can harness energy in places where we’ve scarcely been looking — cities. It’s an ingenious concept,” DesignBoom stories “The O-Wind Turbine from O-Innovations relies on Bernoulli’s principle to make its mechanism work. Vents have large entrances, but smaller exits, which create a different pressure inside when the wind enters, causing the turbine to move. The vents cloak the sphere’s structure to make the turbine receptive to all directions.”

Small wind turbines might have a spot within the vitality technology sector sooner or later. Whether or not the O-Wind is a viable idea on a industrial scale stays to be seen.

And The Winner Is …

There are treasured few technical particulars obtainable concerning the O-Wind, which suggests it could be an attention-grabbing idea however is not going to deliver copious quantities of renewable vitality to the folks of the world anytime quickly. The StEnSea venture, however, is backed by actual scientists doing issues actual scientists do. Is it more likely to substitute BESS? No, it received’t play in Oklahoma Metropolis or Memphis, that are removed from any deep oceans, however it’s a potential software to assist transfer the renewable vitality revolution ahead in locations the place politicians usually are not shills for fossil gas pursuits.

Over watercress sandwiches (with the crusts reduce off, naturally), the gang at CleanTechnica thought the Fraunhofer StEnSea know-how will discover a area of interest within the vitality storage world within the close to future. The O-Wind? Not a lot. Examine again with us in 2030 for a full report!