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'Whale tail' makes ships fuel efficient by using wave power
There's no better way to develop more efficient marine vessels than to take cues from the animals that can effortlessly navigate the waters. In this case, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) led by postdoctoral fellow Eirik Bøckmann are working on a system inspired by a whale's tail to lower ships' fuel consumption. The mechanism looks more like flippers meant to be attached somewhere underneath the front part of the ship, but it undulates up and down as the vessel moves, just like a whale's tail. It's not the first system that takes after the majestic marine mammals, but previous attempts were designed quite differently.
SeaOrbiter to begin construction by year's end, project price tag clocks in at $52.7 million
Remember that USS Enterprise-esque ocean research vessel we first ran across back in 2005? Yes, the one that was originally slated to hit the open waters in 2008 or 2009. After catching heat for its lofty ambitions for the last 12 years, the SeaOrbiter is finally set to begin construction later this year. The ship is slated to measure 170 feet (51 meters) tall, but to stabilize the vessel over half of the vehicle would stay below the surface, providing all sorts of collection systems and useful tools. Not only does it look like something out of Minority Report, but the SeaOrbiter is 100% sustainable. The ship's power is set to come from solar, wind and wave power with biofuel in case nature doesn't cooperate -- when the vessel isn't adrift via ocean currents. Funding has been obtained for the $52.7 million undertaking, which will produce an endless amount of data on global warming and marine biology around the globe. For a look at some renders of the massive vehicle, click though the gallery below for a quick peek. %Gallery-158595%
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Tesla's Roadster 2.5, the world's smallest electric plane, and solar jellyfish goo
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. From the deep blue seas to the sunny skies, this week novel renewable energy projects lit up the newswires. We watched as the world's largest wave energy site was installed in the UK, and we were excited to see Europe's largest wind farm get a major upgrade. We also took a look at several high-flying turbines that could potentially tap 870 terawatts of high-altitude wind energy, and we were shocked to see scientists develop a new type of solar cell made from bioluminescent jellyfish. We also showcased several soaring advances in green aviation as the Solar Impulse sun-powered airplane rallied for a series of trips across Switzerland and Cri-Cri, the wold's smallest electric plane, took its inaugural flight. Electric transportation also hit the streets as we took a spin in Tesla's brand new Roadster 2.5. In other news, this week we saw the light as Hulger brought their stunningly sculpted Plumen bulbs to market, and we marveled at a fresh new solar panel-inspired clothing line and a photovoltaic roofing system that doesn't look like a Blade Runner prop. Finally, we celebrated the last days of summer with this awesome solar Ibex cooker that bakes and boils using the power of the sun.
Wave power to be put to use in California
It looks like California could be getting at least some of its electricity from a decidedly more environmentally-friendly source relatively soon, as Pacific Gas & Electric has announced that it's teamed with Finavera Renewables to put a so-called "wave farm" into use off the coast near California's Humboldt County. That will apparently generate 2 megawatts of electricity and offset some 245 tons of carbon dioxide annually, although not before 2012, when it is "ideally" set to be put into motion. Helping the farm churn out all that electricity is Finavera's Aquabuoy (pictured at right), which drives an underwater piston as it bobs up and down that, in turn, pressurizes a chamber that cranks a turbine to generate the power. What's more, as CNET reports, if the initial deployment proves successful, Finavera says it could eventually crank things up to a full 100 megawatts, while still keeping the farm within a few square miles on the sea.
