Here's a topic that always seems to fascinate me. I'm not too sure how often this thread will get used in the future, but hopefully this'll be a good collection of idea.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060918/ ... emorepower

Floating Ocean Windmills Designed to Generate More Power

Ker Than
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com Mon Sep 18, 4:45 PM ET

Windmills that would float hundreds of miles out at sea could one day help satisfy our energy needs without being eyesores from land, scientists said today.

Offshore wind turbines are not new, but they typically stand on towers that have to be driven deep into the ocean floor. This arrangement only works in water depths of about 50 feet or less—close enough to shore that they are still visible.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have designed a wind turbine that can be attached to a floating platform. Long steel cables would tether the corners of the floating platform to a concrete-block or other mooring system on the ocean floor, like a high-tech ship anchor. The setup is called a "tension leg platform," or TLP, and would be cheaper than fixed towers.

"You don't pay anything to be buoyant," said Paul Sclavounos, an MIT professor of mechanical engineering and naval architecture who was involved in the design.

The floating platforms to sway side to side but not bob up and down. Computer simulations suggest that even during hurricanes, the platforms would shift by only about three to six feet and that the bottom of the turbine blades would revolve well above the peak of even the highest wave. Dampers similar to those used to steady skyscrapers during high winds and earthquakes could be used to further reduce sideways motion, the researchers say.

Like the offshore windmills currently in use, the TLP's would use undersea cables to shuttle the electricity to land.

The researchers estimate their floater-mounted turbines could work in water depths ranging from about 100 to 650 feet. This means that in the northeastern United States, they could be placed about 30 to 100 miles out at sea. Because winds are stronger farther offshore, the floating windmills could also generate more energy—5.0 megawatts (MW), compared to 1.5 MW for onshore units and 3.5 MW for conventional offshore setups.

To save money, assembly of the TLP's could be done onshore—probably at a shipyard—and towed out to sea by a tugboat, the researchers say.

Sclavounos estimates that building and installing the TLP's should cost a third of what it costs to install current offshore tower windmills. Another advantage of using floating platforms is that the windmills could be moved around. If a company with 400 wind turbines in Boston needs more power in New York City, it can unhook some of their windmills and tow them south.

The researchers plan to install a half-scale prototype of their invention south of Cape Cod.

"We'd have a little unit sitting out there to show that this thing can float and behave the way we're saying it will," Sclavounos said.

That's pretty rad.

*waits for corduroy to pin this on religion*

are windfarms really that big of an eyesore. i remember seeing one in cali or arizona and was in awe of it

**waits for Peeps to get a better job than working at Pizza Hut**

Great thread Green Habit. There is no "silver bullet" to decreasing the use of conventional energy, so in the (near) future, energy will come from a diversity of sources. I'm a really big proponent of energy-efficiency though. I think so much can be done at the initial stage of building design to decrease energy use. Simply selecting the proper orientation of a building can have huge implications on its future energy use. Obviously, this only accounts for new construction, so for the remaining 90% of existing buildings, this type of technology is definately needed. Although it seems generic, I'm a huge proponent of solar energy (not just photovoltaics though) - solar (or hybrid) cooling, solar-assisted dehumdification, passive solar, etc. It just boggles the mind how much can be done with proper climatic considerations taken into account.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

it's a matter of opinion. i've had people descibe them as 'magestic' and 'graceful' to me before. i tend to agree, but i'm biased. others will say things like they are the most intrusive rural development in a century. it's a very polarising issue and most people have an agenda

this is a great thread idea nick, but i guess you knew i'd be all over this one like hot sauce

offshore wind farms are a good idea because you can get a lot more energy out of them. the issue i would have with the technology in this article is it will be very expensive, especially when you add in the transportation cost as the turbines will be so far away from the grid. i'm not certain off the top of my head how they would combat that.

if anyone's interested, the september issue of scientific american is devoted to future alternative energy sources. there's some stuff on potential new technologies like solar panels in space, even.

Remember in Jaws 2 when the shark bit the underwater cable? Cool stuff, man.

On the topic of energy efficiency: I heard about a company that is looking into recapturing some of the heat from server farms, I think somewhere along the lines of 5% of the electricity could be returned utilizing the heat from servers. Them be some tiny turbines.

Around where I'm from in WNY, everybody and their brother is fighting over putting up windmills. I say go for it. It's people's private property, if they want to sell their land so that others can make clean efficient energy, so be it. I don't find them an eyesore, or anything majestic, but I do think that everyone would just get used to them after about six weeks.

"Oh hey look, windmills."

ok, i must be dense, but the article cites how floating windmills will rule the world because they don't have to be drilled into the ocean floor, then goes on to say they need to be attached to something that is drilled into the ocean floor.

Is the idea you can slap one anchor on the ocean floor and then attach multiple mills to it, or am i missing something?

The thing about windmills, is that you need a LOT of them.

Make hydrogen at home!

http://www.ahanw.org/library/remotepdf. ... ME%7e1.PDF

I'll be honest....it scares me a little.

If you want a better picture of wind energy in the future I'd suggest going and talking to some people in Denmark. The people making money with them hand over fist, love them. Everyone else, not so much. They're everywhere and they're a terrible eye sore. When I fist saw a couple of them I was very impressed with their size and thought they were pretty neat. That quickly wore off as I travelled around more and more and saw them litterally everywhere. Such beauitiful scenery interrupted every mile by a freakin huge white noise maker.

Last I heard, the Danish were not allowing any new windmills to go up.

Here in Southern Alberta, the land of strong reliable winds we have a few wind farms popping up. You can volunteer to pay more on your Electric bill to support the extra cost for this green energy but really it's all just mixed into the grid. The total sum of energy these wind farms contribute to the city's grid doesn't even equal a full 1% and it costs a lot more to get it there.

They do also have a huge effect on migrating birds.

These under water ones sound interesting, but I can't see them being economically feasable.

Could another reason for opposing off-shore drilling close to the coast be that the immediate waters off the coast can be home to some very biodiverse areas that shouldn't be disturbed?

It's been statistically proven that wind farms do not have a "huge effect" on migrating birds. It's a myth. It's like saying buildings shouldn't be built with windows because they kill birds. Yes, it kills some every now and again, but it really isn't a problem.

You're right. Looking at some recent articles it looks like Plate Glass actually kills far more birds every year than the windmills do. Given there's a lot more glass out ther ethan windmills, but it doesn't appear to be a huge issue.

Apparently bats are a bit more of a concern, but it doesn't look to be as big an issue as it's been made out to be to me previously.

I just started taking an alternative energy program at college

It could also reduce tourism because it ruins the view *cough Senator Kennedy cough*

Bwahahaha.