Officials have been searching for new sources of green energy since the
tragic nuclear meltdown at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011, and
they're not stopping until they find them.
Bloomberg reports that IHI Corp, a Japanese heavy machinery manufacturer,
has successfully tested a prototype of a massive, airplane-sized turbine
that can generate electricity from powerful deep sea ocean currents, laying
the groundwork for a promising new source of renewable energy that isn't
dependent on sunny days or strong winds.
Kairyu is the company's most recent prototype, which weights 330 tons. A
large fuselage connects two counter-rotating turbine fans, allowing the
entire equipment to float while attached to the sea floor, hovering between
100 and 160 feet below the surface.
It draws electricity from one of the world's strongest ocean currents off
Japan's eastern coast to power its massive turbines.
The business was able to generate roughly 100 kilowatts of steady
electricity during demonstrations earlier this year. IHI Corp plans to
generate two megawatts during subsequent testing, with commercial operations
beginning in the 2030s, according to Bloomberg.
Japan is also looking at other options for generating energy from the sea,
such as tidal power and ocean thermal energy conversion, which uses the
temperature difference between cold and warm ocean water to generate
electricity.
Engineers now have the difficult task of growing the process to the point
where it is profitable, which is no simple task.
According to Angus McCrone, a marine energy specialist, "the major
difficulty for ocean current turbines is whether they could design a system
that would generate electricity cheaply out of currents that are not
especially powerful."
