I recently wrote a post about devices that harvest the kinetic energy of moving water, and noted how technologies that capture such energy are finding their way into doors, turnstiles, and dancefloors. Well, an Israeli company called Innowattech seems to have taken this concept of capturing wasted mechanical energy further than anyone else, and is pitching energy-harvesting roadways, runways, and railways.
How do they do this? Using a network of piezoelectric generators that are embedded into the surface of the roadway (or runway or railroad) which can harvest energy from weight, motion, vibration, and temperature changes. In addition, the company claims to have developed an energy storage system to attach to their piezoelectric generators.
Innowattech says one kilometer of roadway can produce up to 500 kW of electricity every hour, and the faster and heavier the vehicles, the more energy the roadways can generate - sounds perfect for the driving habits of Americans.
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Hydrokinetic technologies are those that capture the kinetic energy in moving water, usually from fast-moving currents or waves, to produce electricity. (Typically, the term does not refer to dammed, hydropower resources.) Some companies active in this space include Finavera, Pelamis, Ocean Power Technologies, and Verdant Power. If successful, these technologies will allow us to capture the almost unfathomable amount of energy swirling around the globe in rivers and oceans - a source of energy as vast as the sun that shines or the wind that blows. FERC just approved the first commercial hydrokinetic project in the US today.
Unlike wind, which can be quite unpredictable and challenging to integrate to the grid, currents and tides are surprisingly easy to forecast. Tidal power is probably the most predictable type of renewable power, since tides are based on lunar phasing, making it possible to predict tidal patterns centuries in advance. Wave patters, can be known three to five days in advance, still relatively easy to forecast. But predictability is not the main benefit of wave and tidal power - it’s the amount of energy there is. An industry report from Greentech Media states that tidal and marine currents are over 800 times more dense than the air flowing over wind turbines. While estimates vary as to how much wave/tidal energy can actually be cost-effectively deployed, it has been reported that just looking at the ocean currents near population centers would lead to a market of 4,000 TWh. For comparison, worldwide electricity consumption is about 16,000 TWh.
Despite all this, the US Department of Energy requested only $3 million for ocean energy research in FY2009 - a stark contrast from the $156 million requested for solar energy.
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