It is nice to see that the world is constantly trying to find alternate energy sources and use them to the fullest. While we are still not even using a fraction of the available energy around us in forms of renewable sources, we are constantly moving forward in our effort to try and uncap the hidden energy in nature. Water always flows from a higher place to lower place. That is a simple principle that we always remember, but it is also the simple analogy that we used to try to simplify both our electronics and thermodynamics in our college. Now we are trying to use the same beautiful laminar flow in the streams to produce energy.
Bourne’s RiverStar System is designed to harness the energy in thousands of miles of untapped rivers that stretch across the globe. RiverStar Kinetic Energy System is a self-contained energy module in river currents and it produces electricity from the harnessing of moving water in the river rather than the potential energy of water stored behind large dams. The concept is really beautiful as it has the potential to remove plenty of hazards that modern day dams carry along with them. This technology has come about from the development of new materials, micro-power generation systems, hydrodynamic breakthroughs, improved structures and new power transmission, communication and control technologies. So basically it is a culmination of many technologies put together.
I suppose this technology will not produce tons of energy right away and it will not be a complete solution to the world’s energy needs. But it will still help us produce energy in a nice clean way. Not knowing the complete idea of this venture obviously means that I cannot completely judge the product or the technology, but it will surely lead to improvement of marine engines. It will be interesting to see where this goes from here.
