Florida Atlantic University's first student-run news source.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Florida Atlantic University's first student-run news source.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Florida Atlantic University's first student-run news source.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Putting a ‘Windmill’ in the Water

When the UP first reported on the Gulf Stream energy project, the researchers at the SeaTech campus in Dania Beach didn’t know how they would construct a 130-foot-wide underwater turbine.

Two years later, the project is one permit away from placing a turbine — a structure that resembles a windmill — in the ocean.
“We made more progress in the last year than we envisioned we would,” researcher and engineering professor Rick Driscoll says.

The turbine was designed to take the Gulf Stream current, which begins a couple miles off the coast of South Florida and flows northward, and convert it into energy. As this ocean current moves, the rotor — or the part that rotates — on the structure will spin and produce energy that can be distributed throughout the state.

This project is part of FAU’s Center for Ocean Energy Technology (COET), a division of the ocean engineering department, which specializes in finding alternatives to fossil fuels. The goal is to turn the Gulf Stream into a renewable energy source, or produce energy that will not run out.
“The Florida government is moving renewable energy to the forefront [of the agenda],” says Susan Skemp, executive director of the COET.

In January 2008, Governor Charlie Crist proposed a $10 million grant for the Gulf Stream energy project in his 2009 budget. His budget also includes rebates for using solar energy and wind energy tax incentives.

SeaTech’s money would likely be used to take the campus’ 33-foot boat — which can cost up to $1,000 per day — out to the ocean to conduct further research, Driscoll told the UP in April. Some of the money will also be saved for future projects.

This is the second grant Driscoll and his team received from the state. The first one was for $5 million in 2006 to form the COET and begin the turbine project.

The research received international attention this July when the COET entered a partnership with two Scottish universities — the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University — and the New and Renewable Energy Centre, based in England.

These organizations are all looking for alternative energy solutions, including the use of the northern end of the Gulf Stream, which passes by the United Kingdom. The Scottish universities are looking at the Gulf Stream to potentially produce wave and tidal power, as opposed to placing an underwater turbine off the coast.

During their July meeting in London, the four organizations signed memorandums stating that they would share their discoveries with each other and with the public, as well as provide research opportunities for students and professionals.
“We can take the next step on [the other organizations’] knowledge,” researcher Rick Driscoll says. “It’ll help accelerate the program … [and we’ll] learn from others’ mistakes.

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