Dug
28-09-2004, 04:55 AM
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/26/1096137100758.html
A self-taught inventor has signed a contract with Country Energy, one of the country's biggest power grids, to test a new source of clean and renewable electricity that will harness ocean currents and has the potential to drastically reduce electricity costs on islands.
Mick Perry, 42, a former auto-electrician and tuna fisherman, is the driving force behind the $3 million underwater generator, the Aquanator, which will be moored in the mouth of the Clarence River at Maclean in northern NSW.
Currents of about 2.5 knots will rotate aquafoils on the generator, which is 57 metres across and nine metres high, producing one megawatt of electricity - enough to power 660 households daily.
A two-year contract begins next year, but the production company, Atlantis Energy, is already in exploratory talks with island communities, including Lord Howe, which depend on diesel-powered or wind generators.
Electricity from ocean current generators costs more than power from coal-fired grids and about the same as wind-powered energy. However, the cost is about one-sixth that of diesel-powered systems.
Ocean and river currents are more dependable than the wind or solar power and can guarantee supply. Moored underwater, the Aquanator is out of sight and silent.
Looks good to me I guess we would no be able to fish near it though, Imagine a power blackout and losing your lure at the same time ;D
A self-taught inventor has signed a contract with Country Energy, one of the country's biggest power grids, to test a new source of clean and renewable electricity that will harness ocean currents and has the potential to drastically reduce electricity costs on islands.
Mick Perry, 42, a former auto-electrician and tuna fisherman, is the driving force behind the $3 million underwater generator, the Aquanator, which will be moored in the mouth of the Clarence River at Maclean in northern NSW.
Currents of about 2.5 knots will rotate aquafoils on the generator, which is 57 metres across and nine metres high, producing one megawatt of electricity - enough to power 660 households daily.
A two-year contract begins next year, but the production company, Atlantis Energy, is already in exploratory talks with island communities, including Lord Howe, which depend on diesel-powered or wind generators.
Electricity from ocean current generators costs more than power from coal-fired grids and about the same as wind-powered energy. However, the cost is about one-sixth that of diesel-powered systems.
Ocean and river currents are more dependable than the wind or solar power and can guarantee supply. Moored underwater, the Aquanator is out of sight and silent.
Looks good to me I guess we would no be able to fish near it though, Imagine a power blackout and losing your lure at the same time ;D