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BIOWAVE: Biomimicry Solution for Ocean Power

inhabitat.com — Using biomimicry as the guiding design principle, the Australian firm BioPower Systems has developed Biowave: an ocean power system that harnesses energy by mimicking the motion of underwater plants in the ocean currents to generate electricity.

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  • Tomboys, on 05/16/2008, -0/+17I can't believe I haven't heard of this before. It seems so obvious. The ocean is so powerful... of course use it for energy.
  • louiebaur, on 05/16/2008, -0/+5What a great idea
  • donnambirdlady, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3It looks like there are multitudes of solutions for our energy problems. We need to diversify and get away from fossil fuels quickly!
  • danmarek, on 05/16/2008, -1/+6Can you say Liquid Karma?
    • jdm0778, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3I came here to say that
    • Vector713, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Liquid Karma

      Yup.
    • WeThePeople2012, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2"because I'm a pimip, and pimps don't kill themselves." The funny thing is, while watching southland tales I was wondering why we didn't have liquid karma already.
  • arlok789, on 05/16/2008, -0/+7This is nothing new. I have heard people talking about harnessing energy from ocean currents for a while. Putting the motion in my ocean. Yeehaa. Clean energy is delicious.
  • TyrannousDotNet, on 05/16/2008, -0/+5Ah! Fluid Karma!
  • delau, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Large scale implementation would be a bitch.
    • rawg, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1It would be cool if they could figure out a way to attach generators to actual underwater plants, then they could just grow them instead of building and deploying them.
  • davidg11, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4Here's a company that uses ocean waves to generate energy. It's basically a big buoy bobbing up and down. It doesn't get much more simple than that!

    http://www.oceanpowertechnologies.com/index.htm

    Disclaimer: I own stock in this company, but I only invest in what I think will get us off oil and coal AND make a profit doing so.
  • minmi, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2I think it's a great idea.
    But I wonder how many Biowaves we have to install to generate enough energy.
  • shpoffo, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2then something will grow on it and a hybrid ecology will emerge. The seaweeds have been 'teaching' us for a long time waiting for us to become smart enough to play along
  • chaos7, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2butterfly effect
  • mrstorm, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1Love this technology. I wonder about maintenance though - technicians would need to be skilled divers. I suppose there could also be an issue with the moving parts getting bunged up with algae. Maybe there is some other technology based on biomimicry that would prevent algae growth or adherance to the blades.
  • Chazx, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1So this prototype produces 1/2000th of the amount of energy as the British offshore wind farm that's about to be built?
  • VipeNess, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4Southland Tales anyone.. ?
  • tylerkuite, on 05/17/2008, -4/+1im all for clean energy, but what happens when the cable snaps, and electricutes everything?
  • mcsurvey, on 05/17/2008, -1/+2This is the way the world ends. Not with a whimper but with a bang.
  • Iravan, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3Biomimicry is great! Nature has virtually perfected many concepts over time (flight, harnessing solar power, etc.) We should take advantage of the millions of years of r&d.
  • akimbo, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4YAY for Australia!

    Its about time we use our renewable natural resources for good! We are too addicted to coal and short term solutions.
  • caponumen, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3Yep, this concept has HUGE potential in nanotech systems as well and mirrors much of my own thinking on even more interesting and complex possibilities. The nanotech applications will be as revolutionary as the steam engine, if not more.

    BTW this is a much more GREEN solution than the sea turbine systems, it may be a net PLUS for the environment overall.


  • WeThePeople2012, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1video of it: http://digg.com/tech_news/Video_of_a_new_undersea_ ...
  • whalt, on 05/17/2008, -1/+1Biomimicry? Is that what Ann Coulter uses to appear so lifelike?
  • kcasper, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1We should be doing this with wind. There is millions of acres of farmland that sits empty for many months out of the year. Small little setups could be deployed in mass. Just think, all that power we could get from the wind knocking around a hydrogen filled balloon.
  • Hughman86, on 05/18/2008, -1/+0Aussie, Aussie, Aussie...
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