Cool idea of the day

Posted by David Roberts at 12:08 PM on 12 Jun 2008

Read more about: innovation | wind power | energy | renewable energy

Floating wind turbines that can be placed farther out at sea (and in heavier wind) than typical anchored offshore turbines.

Next: high-altitude wind!

For story: Cool idea of the day
10 Comments | Post a Comment

challenging

This is a good development, but one that'll take a while. The twin challenges of higher wind speeds and wave action that causes a floating platform to pitch requires significant engineering. The anchoring system is also very technical, and unless done right will cause difficulties for the platform. Also, the cables to carry the power generated will have to be very flexible and long, but the oil industry has developed good systems in this regard already.

Advantages include moving them far enough offshore that there's likely to be no opposition to their siting outside of fishermen, and the fact that they can be assembled in port and towed out to the site, rather than being assembled on site at sea, which is challenging and expensive for fixed platform turbines.

The platform being tested for a while now consists of a massive floating platform and relatively small turbine, but they're learning a lot from it.

Erik

The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

by Erik Hoffner at 1:56 PM on 12 Jun 2008

Cool! (positively frosty actually),

but to give credit where credit is due, wasn't our own Amazing DrX thinking along these lines ages ago?

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 1:57 PM on 12 Jun 2008

Offshore wind not new

And neither is high altitude wind. I've posted on FEGS need Gyromills before. And I believe another poster did one on the helium balloon ones, about which I'm more skeptical for a number of reasons.

by Gar Lipow at 2:03 PM on 12 Jun 2008

the floaters are better though

more resilient. won't get drowned if there's a surprise water level rise that pushes high tide waves above "spec."

by hapa at 2:20 PM on 12 Jun 2008

Hold Everything!

Wait a minute! Why in hell is destroying an ecosystem a good idea just because humans don't live there? Speaking for the air, water, sky, sea birds, fish, and marine mammals, I can unequivocally say HELL NO! to this crap. We don't want our natural habitat cluttered with unnatural human garbage. Period!

Electricity should be generated locally, so that those who benefit from its use bear the brunt of its harms.

by Wolverine at 4:54 PM on 12 Jun 2008

ecosystems...

are willing to cut us a deal, at this point, i would think.

by hapa at 5:58 PM on 12 Jun 2008

Hehey

Thanks Canis, I have pestered the blog about this for years.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 9:17 PM on 12 Jun 2008

Dig it

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=norsk+hydro+f ...

Cool floating wind pictures.

My latest idea is wind/wave energy "ships" that anchor out offshore and have a skeleton crew, an underwater cable unreels and plugs into the grid onshore. this design does away with messy permits and allows energy ships to find safer waters in storms.

Crews would commute back and forth to shore to serve their shifts, like oil drilling crews do.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 9:39 PM on 12 Jun 2008

Hi altitude

A carousel that generates power, on the ground, turned by kites a kilometer up in the air. They claim 1 gw is possible.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/ecoblogit_massi.p ...

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 10:29 PM on 12 Jun 2008

Cool potential

Offshore wind turbines are not necessarily "garbage." They can in fact provide important habitat for birds and fish. Read more at BrightFuture

by timbuktu at 4:55 PM on 16 Jun 2008

ADVERTISING POLICY

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