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Using Hydrokinetic Energy as a Major Energy Source
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You know how we have wind turbines scarring (and killing birds) our hills, mountains and valleys, well this idea is based on the same principle. Using horizontal turbines and placing them in our rivers, streams, waterfalls and oceans is a vast, potential source of free energy. HGenergy.com is already experimenting with 2 projects on the Mississippi (one near a dam with the grid close). Think of the old Sutter’s mill. Horizontal turbines placed in a waterfall could generate significant energy. The turbines (Hgenergy.com has their own version) could also be placed on the side of rafts and respond to tidal flow in the oceans. The potential is enormous.
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On May 19th, 2012 at 11:06 pm jerry dycus Said:
While I whole heartly agree the river/tidal power is a great energy source and have already built multiple units doing so, why do you have to put down wind to say so?
Bird kills are rather rare and windows kill far more I’ve personally seen happen as do power lines. Nothing is without risk. We need to pick the least risky like RE and cut the most risky, costly like coal, dino-diesel, bunker fuel etc that kill far more including 50k US deaths/yr and 200k hospitizations.
On June 7th, 2012 at 12:22 pm Cynthia Scott Said:
While it is many times better than fossil fuels, hydro-electric energy is not by any means safe. The dams we already have are interupting ecological cyckes, like salmon migration, and so risking extinctions and the general loss of biodiversity and ecosystem stability. This tends to have a ripple/snowball effect, harming interconnected systems, including important parts of our food supply. I think often people forget how full of life our water systems are, but you can be sure that hydroelectric dams interupt normal ecosystem functioning far more drastically than windmills.
And to add to Mr. Dycus’ point, it is estimated that up to one billion birds die each year from collisions with windows (which they do not see, only recognizing the reflected trees, sky, etc), mostly in cities that are in migratory bird flyways. These accidents are much more common than windmill accidents, as windows are essentially invisible to birds, and thus impossible to avoid.
On July 7th, 2012 at 5:43 pm jerry dycus Said:
Only some dams are bad and hydro kenetic doesn’t use dams normally instead are just like wind generator only underwater. These done right have few problems, no more than a rock on the river would. These can replace the generation lost of bad dam removal plus a lot more that we need to replace coal, by far our worse generation source.
Many dams have other purposes like navigation or storing water for drinking, irrigation. Facts are we are going to need more dams higher up in the mountains to store water formally done by snow, ice, glaciers or we are not going to have food to eat.
So while we need to get rid of some dams, not all. Let’s not condem all because some are bad. Moderation and case by case is the smart way.