Human ingenuity at sea

June 1, 2021
June 1, 2021 Poison Toocool

Human ingenuity at sea

By Ens. Harry Heath…

Sea borne solar farms could be the wave of the future, if SolarDuck, a renewable energy enterprise based in the Netherlands, has its way. The start-up tech co believes that maritime solutions can resolve some of the issues around the use of fossil fuels.

What is solar power?

Since the 1880s, we’ve used fossil fuels to generate electricity for our homes and factories. By 1961, coal had become the major fuel source used to power all of our amenities. After fossil fuels were discovered, we built a world dependent on electrical power. Electrical power has been the key to making lives better across the world, and we’re dependent on it. However, the way in which it is generated is what is of concern.

The problem with fossil fuels is when they are burned a huge bi-product is released into the atmosphere; carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. CO2 is a greenhouse gas, which means that it traps heat in our atmosphere, rather than letting it escape into space. Global warming is the result; our planet’s temperature has already increased by 1 degree celsius. If this reaches 1.5 degree celsius, we would see further rises in sea level, extreme weather and a chain-reaction of negative consequences for us and other life on the planet. The International Panel on Climate Change recommends that we must halve our CO2 emissions within 11 years, if we are to remain below the 1.5 degree limit.

Luckily many governments have now signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, which provides countries with targets on reducing their CO2 emissions. However, you might ask ‘how does one reduce its emissions and retain the same levels of power needed to make countries run?’ Well the answer to this challenge is renewable energy.

Renewable energy is all about harnessing nature itself and using it to our advantage. One way in which we do this is utilising the power of our Sun, using Solar Energy. This was discovered by Edmond Becquerel in 1839. But it wasn’t until 1954 that the first silicon photovoltaic cell was created by Bell Labs. This technology birthed the Solar Panel.

How does solar work?

Solar power is generated by using a series of Silicon cells to absorb the sunlight radiation and create a flow of electrical current. Once this has been initiated, wires then capture and feed this electrical direct current (DC) into a solar inverter to be converted to alternating current (AC), where it can then be used in our homes. Ingenious really! This energy can then be used however we want it. Of course there are two main dependencies when it comes to this type of renewable energy: exposure and available space.

Exposure

First you need the solar panels to have frequent enough exposure to sunlight. If you only get a couple of days of sunlight a month, then this isn’t going to be enough to depend on for your electrical needs. However, places around the Earth’s equator are prime locations for solar panels, as these have at least a constant of 12 hours of daylight all year round. In the United States, for example, the ‘Sunbelt’ region is made up of 15 of the most-southern states. This region is an excellent place for solar panels. However, we come to our second problem – space.

Finding Space

The reality is that the more solar panels you have, the more solar energy you can generate. However, many of the cities and islands in the Sunbelt region lack the land space required to maximise their coverage for solar farms.

In an ingenious solution to this problem, ‘SolarDuck’ has turned their focus on the sea, rather than the land. They have designed a series of floating rafts which house solar farms. The rafts can withstand coastal sea conditions and hurricane-force winds. Their modular triangular pattern means that they can be built to interconnect with one another, to form huge solar farms off the coast. The other benefits of the triangular design is that they can easily adapt to harsh sea conditions and deal with high waves. Many of islands and cities need to really harness the power of the Sun, without giving up on their limited land space. 

Since the Earth is 71% water, perhaps SolarDuck’s idea of using off-shore or even sea-based energy farms could be the answer we’re looking for. A world in which all fossil fuels are completely replaced by renewable forms of energy may no longer be just a dream.

 

SOURCES:

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/Elem_Coal_Studyguide.pdf

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/fossil-fuels

https://www.clientearth.org/latest/latest-updates/stories/fossil-fuels-and-climate-change-the-facts/

https://www.energysage.com/solar/

https://interestingengineering.com/hurricane-resistant-floating-solar-farm-lower-fossil-fuel?_source=newsletter&_campaign=jvmaVpKoYjQJM&_uid=M7e59L6xe2&_h=fffee4001b6062d96b16aa866e1db31ad44281a4&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-12-05-2021

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/time/latitude.html#:~:text=Areas%20on%20the%20Equator%20have,day%20light%20all%20year%20round.&text=As%20latitude%20increases%20to%2080,where%20the%20sun%20never%20rises.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Sun-Belt

https://solarduck.tech/

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/03/05/dutch-startup-develops-offshore-floating-pv-platform/

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