Rubber “Anaconda” Could Harness Wave Energy for 10.000 Homes
Wave power refers to the energy of ocean surface waves and the capture of that energy to do useful work.Wave power is a form of renewable energy.The combination of forces due to the gravity, surface tension and wind intensity are the origin of sea waves.Wave size is determined by wind speed and fetch (the distance over which the wind excites the waves) and by the depth and topography of the seafloor (which can focul or disperse the energy of the waves).
Excluding waves created by major storms, the largest waves are about 15 meters high and have a period of about 15 seconds.A good wave power location will have an average flux much less than this, perhaps about 50 kW/m.The Atlantic waves along northwest cost have an average value of 80kW/m.The global wave resource due to wave energy is roughly 2 TW and Europe represents about 320 GW, which is about 16% of the total resource.
With the passage of time people have invented several devices able to harness wave energy,but not like this one.This project, called “Anaconda” by Checkmate company , is 200 meters long and is almost entirely made of a rubber tube.The rubber construction allows it to move along the waves producing a huge quantity of energy (a single Anaconda system produces energy for 10,000 homes).
Regenerative Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles
The stationary charger has more power and efficiency, but it reduces the vehicle independency.The requirements for a stationary charger are:the output voltage situated between 60 and 200 V and the current intensity from 20 to 200 Amps.
The charging stations require an infrastructure connected to existing electric supplying networks.This infrastructure must have some characteristics:
- The type of material to be used for terminals, protection, signalisation;
- The localisation of the charging plug;
- The connection between vehicle and clamps;
- The security related to electrotechnical installation.
The inductive charging eliminates the problem of wiring the vehicle to the charger (wear and crrosion, influence of water, ice, oil and dirt, vandalism).The inductive charger operates on the principle of a transformer.The primary windings are vertically located on the wall or horizontally, on the vehicle’s board, together with the actual charger.Charging process consists of driving the vehicle close to the primary windings (the clereance of 5 cm, between primary and secondary windings, is sufficient for an inductive coupling between both windings).
Regenerative energy supply is required to protect the environment in the transport sector.The wind and the sun are significant energy sources at the moment.Wind installations are generally limites to a hundred kilowatts.A solar station can be up to 1,5 kW.The cost of a recharging station is to high at this moment, but the installation is expected to be the future potential reimplacement of the conventional recharging stations supplied by the electric network distribution.
The Most Advanced Way to Harness Ocean Energy
Nowadays we can see more and more often attempts to transform environment energy in electricity.With systems based on advanced technologies people are trying to achieve maximum efficiency of this energy conversion.
Recently NASA has developed a project aimed to transform the energy generated by water movement in electricity.
This system is based on the use of a special substance which passes through diferent thermal states(when passes through water).This substance expands due to ocean temperature, and creates a high pressure which is used to generate electricity (through some advanced turbines).
There are still some questions,but, if researchers manage to find answers,and the project will be practical and and will yield better, can be used to provide electricity to a large scale.