Harnessing Currents with Underwater Kites

Nov-08-13 Tethered underwater kites able to harness the power of ocean waves and currents could provide significantly more power than wind turbines.

The research, being carried out by David Olinger of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is based upon the idea of taking advantage of the ocean currents—which he refers to as ‘liquid breezes.’ The Florida Current, for example, is estimated to have a potential power of twenty gigawatts—which is the equivalent to about ten nuclear power plants. Oligner recently received a three-year, $300,000 grant from the NSF to develop the project.

The kites, which would be attached to floating platforms, would be much less expensive to install than conventional wind turbines as well as easier to reach for maintenance. In addition, the figure-eight motion of the kite would move up to five times faster than the current, creating a power output up to 64 times greater than a comparable stationary turbine.

Image: David Olinger
One concept for a power-generating underwater kite. The kite (3) is connected by a tether (2) to a platform (1) that floats at the ocean surface (6) and is anchored to the ocean floor with mooring lines (7). The kite will have a wing (4), a rudder and control surfaces (8), and ballast tanks (10). A turbine generator inside the kite (5) would generate power as the kite moved in a figure-eight motion (9).

More Info about this Invention:

[PHYS.ORG]
[WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC]

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