Massive Floating Generators To Provide Power & Food To Japan > NewHeavenNewEarth

HOME

news

community

integral nhne

resources

links

about

DONATE

News Articles Archive


"News, information, and a home on the Net for people all over the world who are seeking to heal the Earth and unravel the fundamental mysteries of life."

Featured Articles

Moonie Peace Group To Hold Biggest UK Event

China 'Using Cyberwarfare To Challenge U.S. Power'

UFO: 'Out Of The Blue' Special Offer

1972 Prophesy Of Economic Collapse 'Coming True'

Scientists Take A Step Closer To An Elixir Of Youth

Government Warns Of 'Catastrophic Quake In Southern & Midwestern U.S.

Supercomputers Break Petaflop Barrier, Transforming Science

World's First Transplant Of A Whole Organ Grown In Lab!

The Bible's Buried Secrets

The Greenhouse Gas That Nobody Knew

Star Trek Releases 2nd Trailer

World's First Skype Certified Standalone Videophone

Garbage Dump Power Plants

Murdoch To Aussies: Embrace Technology

60 Minutes: President-Elect Barack Obama

Gore Says No To 'Climate Czar' Role

Parallel Universes: Do They Really Exist?

Where Can The Best Videos On Planet Earth Be Found?

2004 'God Factor' Interview With Barack Obama

Charter For Compassion: 3 Minutes Of Pure Inspiration

Update 18: 'Buddha Boy' Emerges, 10,000 Flock To See Him

David Servan-Schreiber On Cancer

The Seven Aphorisms Of Summum

Butler Who Saw Racial History Being Remade

25 Ailments That Can Be Cured By Having Sex

Research Aims To Let Animals Have Their Say

Change.Org

Robert Augustus Masters: 'The Art of Listening'

Foreplay Is Overrated, Researchers Claim

Al Gore: The Climate for Change

Current Articles

Moonie Peace Group To Hold Biggest UK Event

China 'Using Cyberwarfare To Challenge U.S. Power'

UFO: 'Out Of The Blue' Special Offer

1972 Prophesy Of Economic Collapse 'Coming True'

Cell Phone Jammers

Scientists Take A Step Closer To An Elixir Of Youth

Government Warns Of 'Catastrophic Quake In Southern & Midwestern U.S.

Supercomputers Break Petaflop Barrier, Transforming Science

World's First Transplant Of A Whole Organ Grown In Lab!

The Bible's Buried Secrets

The Greenhouse Gas That Nobody Knew

Star Trek Releases 2nd Trailer

World's First Skype Certified Standalone Videophone

Garbage Dump Power Plants

Murdoch To Aussies: Embrace Technology

60 Minutes: President-Elect Barack Obama

Gore Says No To 'Climate Czar' Role

Parallel Universes: Do They Really Exist?

Where Can The Best Videos On Planet Earth Be Found?

2004 'God Factor' Interview With Barack Obama

Charter For Compassion: 3 Minutes Of Pure Inspiration

Update 18: 'Buddha Boy' Emerges, 10,000 Flock To See Him

David Servan-Schreiber On Cancer

The Seven Aphorisms Of Summum

Butler Who Saw Racial History Being Remade

25 Ailments That Can Be Cured By Having Sex

Research Aims To Let Animals Have Their Say

Change.Org

Robert Augustus Masters: 'The Art of Listening'

Foreplay Is Overrated, Researchers Claim

Al Gore: The Climate for Change

Fed Refuses To Disclose Loan Recipients

Robert Augustus Masters: 'I Have Cancer'

Al Gore: Internet Revolution Could Save Earth

'Child-Witches' Of Nigeria Seek Refuge

Mini Nuclear Plants To Power 20,000 Homes

Meet The 'Green' Berets

The Disappearing Male

Following The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste

Mary Menth Andersen On Barack Obama: 'Who Is This Man?'

Obama Promises New Era Of Scientific Innovation

The Best Inventions Of The Year

Toyota Warns Of 'Unprecedented' Crisis

Suddenly, It May Be Cool To Be An American Again

Fresh Genes Needed To Save Chicken Industry

Fountain Of Youth Drug Restores Muscles

Study Links Pregnancy With Watching Sexy TV Shows

Obama Victory Speech, McCain Concession Speech

Frozen Mice Cloned - Are Woolly Mammoths Next?

Singularity Summit 2008 Reviewed

News Articles Archive

Current Articles | Categories | Search | Syndication

Massive Floating Generators To Provide Power & Food To Japan

Massive Floating Generators To Provide Power & Food To Japan	281 Views
posted on Tuesday, September 02, 2008

MASSIVE FLOATING GENERATORS, OR 'ECO-RIGS',
TO PROVIDE POWER AND FOOD TO JAPAN
By Leo Lewis
Times Online
September 1, 2008

Original Link

Battered by soaring energy costs and aghast at dwindling fish stocks, Japanese scientists think they have found the answer: filling the seas with giant “eco-rigs” as powerful as nuclear power stations.

The project, which could result in village-sized platforms peppering the Japanese coastline within a decade, reflects a growing panic in the country over how it will meet its future resource needs.

The floating eco-rig generators which measure 1.2 miles by 0.5 miles (2km by 800m) are intended to harness the energy of the Sun and wind. They are each expected to produce about 300 megawatt hours of power.

Some energy would be lost moving the electricity back onshore, but when three units are strapped together, scientists at Kyushu University say, the effect will be the same as a standard nuclear power station.

The eco-rigs' gift to the environment does not stop there: some of the power that the solar cells and wind turbines produce will be hived off to fuel colossal underwater banks of light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

The lamps are intended to convert the platforms into nurseries for specially selected seaweed that absorbs carbon dioxide and feeds fish and plankton. Deep-sea water that is rich in minerals will enhance the seaweed growth. The wind turbines will power pumps that will then draw the water to the surface. The rigs will be unmanned and comprise several hexagonal platforms.

Strapped between them will be large nets designed to support the weight of wind turbines and about 200,000 hexagonal photovoltaic generators -- super-efficient solar panels that are about the size of a double bed. The LEDs will shine down from the panels.

As a country with virtually no fossil fuels, price rises in oil and gas have chilled the corporate sector and the Japanese Government.

Japan's faith in nuclear power has also taken a beating. An earthquake caused its largest nuclear plant to shut down in 2007 and engineers and seismic experts cautioned that the country's high susceptibility to quakes placed the industry at risk.

The Kyushu team says the plans are about three years away from becoming reality. It began tests on a scale version of the eco-rig last month, and full-scale official evaluation is expected to begin soon.


............ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 , this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Unless the information in question has been written and/or published by NHNE, NHNE has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article. NHNE is, therefore, not endorsed or sponsored by the originator, nor does NHNE necessarily endorse, promote, or agree with the content. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.