Setting Sail for the “Energy Ocean” Show

Looking at my clean energy events schedule for 2014, I’ve decided to attend the Energy Ocean show in June, to be held in Atlantic City, NJ.  This should be a nice complement to a number of visits to clients, prospects, and industry pundits on the East Coast, as well as a walk down Memory Lane, as the South Jersey shore was home to hundreds of pleasant boyhood experiences.

The oceans hold several different types of energy that, in turn, holds the interest of scientists everywhere:

• The solar heat energy stored in the top few meters of the oceans near the equator can  be extracted via OTEC (ocean thermal energy conversion).

• The kinetic energy of the ocean currents (also ultimately derived from the sun) or tides (which comes from the relative motion of the Earth and its moon) can be harvested with devices anchored or tethered to the seabeds (my favorite of which is linked here in our list of renewable energy investment opportunities).

• The kinetic energy in waves (created by the winds, which derive from the heat energy of the sun) are also available via a number of different devices floating on the ocean surface, anchored to the seabeds, and stationed onshore.

How much energy is there in our oceans, all-in-all?  I.e., does this have the potential to power a planet of seven billion energy hungry people?  Practically speaking, no.  But it can make a big difference, and, for that reason, it’s cool stuff.

If anyone wishes to meet me there, please let me know.